Alex Blanchard / Part II / MArch Architecture Portfolio / Newcastle University

Master of Architecture Portfolio

2 2

0 0

1 1

6 8

Alexander James Blanchard University of Newcastle

1

2

04 - 05

06 - 07

02. tools for thinking about architecture

08 - 37

38 - 49

03. s6 thesis project part 1

04. experimental architecture

50 - 119

120 - 121

122 - 153

01. introduction

05. s6 thesis project part 2

06. architecture & construction: process & management

07. s5 detail project van nelle techne fabriek

154 - 163

08. s5 masterplan project in media res

164 - 165

09. research through design proposal

166 - 167

10. mapping the arb criteria

168

11. critical reflection

3

4

01. introduction 02. tools for thinking about architecture

03. s6 thesis project part 1

04. experimental architecture

An introductory statement to the architectural portfolio. The piece reflects on two years working towards a Master in Architecture at Newcastle University.

01. introduction alex blanchard

Following three years in practice on completion of my BA architecture degree, I was excited to see how my experience in a range of building placements and architectural offices would be realised in my own projects.

In my placement years I had worked on construction of an oak footbridge at Knebworth park and been involved with refurbishment of a 16th century saw mill in Thuringia, Germany. After these placements I worked within engineering and architectural firms for two years before my return to Newcastle for the part 2 masters degree.

My work in practice was defined by my proficiency in Autodesk Revit, as the software became adopted across the construction industry as the main avenue for Building Information Modelling. However, my experience in work placements, particularly while constructing the footbridge at Knebworth park, gave me exposure to old techniques for production based on economies of cheap labour in which craftsmanship was more commonplace, instilled in me fascination with material engagement and the crafts-person at one with their tools and product.

For my dissertation and final project at undergraduate level, an interest had already been seeded in material engagement and recognition of other modes of practice, along with the de-constructive discourse of Jacques Derrida. My interests and experiences during the time in practice led me to become fascinated by early modern and medieval culture, such as wild fermentation of beer, which recognised alternative processes for production embedded in hands on experience of processes which are not necessarily under complete control, and the complexity of resulting products. The techniques seemed to me to stand as an alternative to present modes of production in which mass production of homogenised components often provides a standard template for the assembled fabrication of buildings.

As I embarked on the master of architecture degree I was excited to see how my interests would be articulated through architectural projects. The story of the two years is how my reliance on Autodesk Revit during the first year gave way during the second, as critical engagement with its processes and reflection on our means of engagement with the software led to my deconstruction of the interface in the culmination of my thesis project.

The academic portfolio forms a reflection and document of the work undertaken while working toward a master of architecture degree at Newcastle University over two years. In the mould of my thesis project, which became a gonzo study in affecting my own mode of practice as a Revit technician in practice, the document illustrates my journey through a non linear narrative of design, research and written projects which comprise the degree.

The week I arrived in Newcastle to embark on the masters degree, I also took delivery of John Hejduk’s anthology Mask of Medusa. This would prove a pivotal moment which has affected my work since, as an early fascination with the linguistic research of the neo-avant-garde in the 1970’s, initially through the work of Peter Eisenman, led me to Hejduk’s chronotope.

Around this time I also read Manfredo Tafuri’s introductory essay to The Sphere and The Labyrinth: “The Historical Project”.

The academic portfolio begins with the Tools for Thinking about Architecture essay, which sought to understand the differing de-constructive approaches of Hejduk and Eisenman, and became a key influence in the design projects which followed - the Van Nelle Techne Fabriek detail project, and my thesis project De-programming the Revit Technician.

5

02. tools for thinking about architecture signification / allegory / deconstruction A study into de-constructive discourse articulated through allegory in the work of Peter Eisenman and John Hejduk

’mysticism tells us that the meaning of things does not lie on their surface, but must be searched for; it is the search that gives purpose and direction to the reader’s act of reading. Allegory is therefore the perfect form for a mystical poem, where the meaning does not lie on the surface but must be dug for; the surface is merely a symbol of the meaning and can in fact be a veil to it.’

(Davis 1984) This statement was the catalyst for a questioning of how we may read allegory in architecture. Davis claims that we have lost the habit of reading complex allegories through interpretation of symbols. The essay studied how two architects, Peter Eisenman and John Hejduk, utilised allegory and symbolism beginning in the 1960’s as the proliferation of modernist architecture led to a re-evaluation of its early purist principles. The essay examined Eisenman and Hejduk’s use of allegory as a means of presenting architectural theory in the years following the publication of Five Architects, 1972.

’When in the late Nineteen-Forties, modern architecture became established and institutionalised, necessarily it lost something of its original meaning [which] it was never supposed to possess. [...] Modern architecture was simply a rationalist approach to building; a logical derivative from functional and technological facts. The intensity of [modernism’s] social vision became dissipated. The building became no longer a subversive proposition about a possible utopian future. It became instead the acceptable decoration of a certainly non-Utopian present.’

(Rowe 1975)

The early days of modernism were optimistic as people looked to a better future borne from the ashes of the First World War. The need to build quickly and efficiently was a catalyst to the efficient purism of Le Corbusier’s early work, as he also sought to correct the subjective and distortive perspectives of cubism. However around 1927 Le Corbusier abandoned purist syntax and embraced hermetic iconography as he looked instead to ‘mythic and Manichean themes’ through his objets à reaction poétiques series. (Frampton, 1980) As modernism proliferated yet failed to create the utopia it had promised, the initial humanist intent which it had symbolised evaporated. Le Corbusier’s manifesto shifted as he sought to reinterpret the substance of his iconography and looked beyond purist architecture shaped by functionalism, efficiency, and program.

Eisenman and Hejduk’s early work re-visits that of Le Corbusier’s, and through a reappraisal of cubism forms a critical reaction to form defined by program alone. (Rowe 1975) Hejduk and Eisenman were the first architects to demonstrate that it was possible to consistently undermine the 20th century presumption that form follows function as they proposed design through a ‘non-figurative’ process. Their work paralleled the rise of post-structuralism, wherein the certainty of a constructed world-view gave way to more subversive and contingent thinking. (Ostwald & Vaughan, 2013) Frampton asserts that the projects included in publication of Five Architects were all concerned with reconsideration of Le Corbusier’s early work to some degree. (Frampton, 1975) The essay studied the alternate trajectories of Hejduk and Eisenman’s work following publication and their continued occupation with de-constructive discourse.

6

Eisenman

Hejduk

In the House I project Eisenman moved away from the rationalization of architecture by its program, which he argued is produced through value judgements within a social sphere as opposed to fact. Eisenman asserted that an environment can be produced with richer meaning by understanding the nature of the structure of form itself, as opposed to the relationship of form to function or of form to meaning. A narrative was generated by Eiseman’s procedural process which may be read in the final form. (Eisenman, 1975)

John Hejduk’s Diamond House A studied an act of translation which is fundamental to architecture – the flattening of perspective onto a 2D plane. The catalyst for Hejduk’s study was an investigation into the architectural possibilities of Van Doesburg’s 45° rotation of a square grid on square canvas, which disrupted the formal 90° relationship utilised

by Mondrian. In response, Mondrian rotated the canvas 45° to adopt a diamond configuration in order to retain the orthogonal 90° relationship of lines. (Hejduk, 1985) Hejduk observed that ‘when the square form in plan is drawn in isometric it appears to the eye as a three-dimensional projection,’ and declared the diamond to be the primitive form of architecture.

(Hejduk, 1985)

The purpose of Eisenman’s procedure was ’to provide an awareness of formal information latent in any environment which previously was unavailable to the individual.’ (Eisenman, 1975) Once Eisenman had established a clear language of form, he proceeded to unload the meaning of structure as he destabilised our assumptions of structural meaning. The act of destabilisation opened the designer’s intention of form to variable readings, as ambiguity allowed questioning to occur. Eisenman claimed that ’deep structure, when combined with the perceptible physical reality, has the potential, if it is structured in a precise fashion, to make available a new level of information.’ (Eisenman, 1975)

’These two conditions – the hyperfiction and the hyperreal, deny origin and closure in both fiction (which is seen to have no origin or end in reality) and reality (which has no origin or end in fiction). Likewise, this project can never achieve finality or closure. There is something yet to be written before the reality of the site of Montecchio, and after the fictions of the Verona of Romeo and Juliet. Here architecture does not close or unify, but rather opens and disperses, fragments and destabilises, not only as a condition of its own being but as an exploration of its resonance with the always changing conception of nature and human endeavour.’

(Eisenman, 1986) Michael Hays (1994) presents Eisenman’s procedure illustrated here as generating ‘a kind of euphoria uniting the repetition of discursive codes with the moment in which the subject of the discourse is obliterated.’

(Barthes, 1975) Michael Hays (1994) relates Eisenman’s process of repetition to both Freud’s death drive and to ‘Roland Barthe’s description of the act of reading – or better, of rewriting – the doxologies of culture: a simultaneous pleasure of repeating what already exists and a jouissance of aesthetic disruption.’ (Barthes, 1975) Here language is established as an allegory unto death, through the manipulation of performative objects able to sign their own certificate of death. (Michael Hays, 2010) The project articulates a de-constructive process through geometry which was developed by Eisenman, initially in isolation from Jacques Derrida’s literary studies and precluded the 1988 project Chora L Works, which Eisenman developed in collaboration with Tschumi and Derrida.

As Hejduk diagrammed the translation apparatus of perspective on to a flat plane he became obsessed with the problems of vision and surface which defines the relationship between object/subject, which is resolved at ‘the moment of the hypotenuse’ (Michael Hays, 2010) Michael Hays explains that the problem Hejduk observed in his study of the subject/object duality references the ‘Kantian machinery of singular appearances and events’ (Michael Hays, 2010), which is illustrated by Jacques Lacan’s Diagram of the Gaze. The moment of the hypotenuse occurs at the intersection of the subject gaze and object gaze. Michael Hays (2010) asserts that the moment of the hypotenuse represents the crease between past and the future, and here quotes Hejduk on the subject:

’It’s a beautiful space’, [Hejduk] declares of the space and time seen backward and forward from this plane. ‘As you go back into space it gets into deeper perspective, it gets less clear and you can never really complete it, because that’s the unknown, it isn’t fixed.

So it gets darker. As you get closer to the present, it’s clearer. On the plane of the present is that horizontal armature, which is the hypotenuse; you just speculate on futures.’

(Hejduk, 1985) Following the publication of Five Architects, Hejduk continued to interrogate the duality of object/subject and explored the act of translation which occurs at the ‘moment of the hypotenuse’. As Hejduk investigated the object/subject apparatus his work took on an intense, cohesive intertextuality which has led critics to describe him as a logothete - a writer of language. (Bergh, 1993) Bergh asserts that the language Hejduk created is not linguistic or communicative but spatio-temporal, and as it traverses the language of architecture it is open only to what Barthes calls the ‘semiological definition of Text’. (Bergh, 1993) Hejduk achieved a mode of original creation by retreating from traditional architectural discourse and utilising the media of painting, literature, music, film, medicine, theatre and geometry. He formed an allegory through the reprisal of distinct signs and forms which were articulated in an assemblage. Elementary signs and forms were ordered so that the larger sequence formed a higher order, creating a kind of ritual which formed spatio-temporal planning. Bergh asserts that in order to embed a new language as opposed to author a new system, a theatricalisation took place through which Hejduk’s language becomes boundless and produces ‘Text’.

Finally, Hejduk lost himself in the framework he set up and arranged ‘ad infinitum’. (Bergh, 1993) Hejduk alludes through his allegory to something which lies beyond the image screen, at the intersection of subject and object’s gaze. The formation of language is questioned as Hejduk leads us to ask whether the sign is equal to what is signified, or if they are separate entities and the signified lies beyond the ‘moment of the hypotenuse.’ (Libeskind, 1985) As Hejduk grappled with the metaphysics of the ‘Other’ as articulated

by Lacan’s ‘Thing’, his de-constructive mode of allegory took on a poetic dimension, as described by Michael Hays:

’angels are characteristic inhabitants of Hejduk’s chronotope, positioned at the threshold of events they announce that something is about to happen - a new world can be made, but not yet as we have not finished destroying the old one. We first have to chop up the old world in to squares and triangles and circles and put those back together again as hair and beaks and funnels and hooded eyes, as these are more promiscuous as visual analogues, more likely to aggregate into unpredictable constellations, to sponsor unprecedented uses.’

(Michael Hays, 2010)

7

The functionalisation of architectural theory implies its transformation into a set of operational rules, into a tool of exclusively technological character.

Alberto PĂŠrez-GĂłmez in Architecture and the Crisis of Modern Science

8

02. tools for thinking about architecture

03. s6 thesis project part 1

07. s5 detail project van nelle techne fabriek

The tools for thinking about architecture essay would become a pivotal moment in the degree which has affected my design projects since. In the second project for stage 5, a detail design for the Van Nelle, I took on Hejduk’s narrative, textual architecture as a means to demonstrate a wider historical reading of the state of modernity following the first world war in the specificity of the factory. This project was concerned with a shifting of the gaze to bring light to the differing philosophies present in the early days of the Bauhaus school, through a paranoid critical reading of the factory and its wider context which brought specific moments into focus.

This project would in turn inform my thesis, set within a studio which follows Jane Rendell’s philosophy of critical spatial practice, the thesis project recognised my reliance on Autodesk Revit as main means of design (exemplified by several intense weeks modelling complex forms with Revit to realise the Van Nelle project) and set out to affect this mode of practice.

03. thesis project de-programming the revit technician

intoxicated practices / intensities of production Intoxicated Practices / Intensities of Production sets its focus on critically engaging with modes of production and methods of architectural and spatial practice.

Intoxication may be understood as a loss of conscious control; as an excitation or exhilaration but also a poisoning; as losing oneself to an act, an event, person or place; as an experience of intensities that risk an overwhelming of context and self. Expanding on these ideas we will look at how intoxicated practices can prompt a questioning of the way that we as architects immerse ourselves in particular activities, substances, materials, systems, agendas, softwares etc., and also how they effect to immerse us.

In what ways might we be agents of others’ intoxication? And how might our design practice develop towards an ethical and critical engagement with these immersive intensities?

Diverse forms of intoxication drive our economy and our culture, what we produce and what we consume; they fuel speculation, risk-taking and innovation; and they are monetized in the experience economy. Changing technological, cultural and economic conditions are affecting the way we practice and what we produce, transforming the way we live, work, socialize etc., and producing new intensities of behaviour and patterns of consumption.

The studio began with a reflection on our own mode of practice and a series of readings which set the critical context for the project. We would engage with our own mode of practice as a point of analysis situated within its wider context.

‘‘My practice in university so far has tended to involve a reading of theory and historical context to inform a critical proposal which I develop through hand drawings. Once a brief is formed I usually produce a single digital model to export all drawings from.

In my projects last year and in practice I have lost myself in the production of detailed Revit models, creating complex form, which the software does not owe itself to. I found in this mode of production some elements of the design were conceded to the limits of the software which is aimed at commercial buildings assembled using standard components, with complex geometry often becoming time intensive to model.’’

9

part 1 the dance of the revit technician

10

their fluttering their oscillation their regular movement was compared with the movement of the human body

11

primer catalyst revit technician as automaton The catalyst event, held in the decanted offices of Claremont tower as it was being readied for refurbishment, hosted a series of installations by the studio which reflected on the developing theoretical context driving the project. In a specific place we found a point of crystallisation for emerging themes which would inform a line of enquiry.

I performed a model of the office space I was situated within using Autodesk Revit. Each time I clicked the mouse I simultaneously activated a wooden foot pedal to illuminate the room with red light. The second screen of the work station, displaying an email feed, was hacked with a critical film which stated my position on the emerging theoretical context.

Donald Kunze in Four Concepts of Virtuality to Reconstruct the Civic in Architecture

Douglas Spencer defines the neoliberal ‘ideology of no ideology’ as one which posits the human subject as kind of post-enlightenment being – environmentally adaptive and driven by affect rather than rationality, flexibly amenable to being channelled along certain pathways, but uninterested in, even incapable of, critical reflection upon its milieu.

Contemporary architectural practice is driven by demands for efficiency through building information modelling techniques. While the act of design becomes reduced to a series of clicks, the production output of workers is increasingly measured. The use of efficient, but restrictive, software such as Revit promotes a mode of practice situated in a cybernetic environment in which a building is assembled from individual standard systems and components.

Meanwhile the city becomes one shaped by the neoliberal ‘ideology of no ideology,’ another cybernetic environment formed by market interests reliant on the human subject as homo economicus, as Don Kunze asserts, driven by affect rather than rationality.

Neoliberal spaces become a labyrinthine structure determined by the higher power of the market, in which the human subjects are predictable, steerable actors.

The click of a mouse combined with production of the final image is becoming the default mode of engagement in architectural production. The largely inaccessible workings behind the software interface are accepted by the practitioner, whose movements become automatic as they dance a dance determined by the modelling program.

The means of production through BIM and the inhabitation of spaces under neoliberal philosophy converge as the subject becomes an economical unit, predictable and ‘flexibly amenable to being channelled along certain pathways’.

Reyner Banham dreamed of being ‘transported to some transcendental realm of experience in the fusion of man-machine-nature’. In this state, like clockwork the city becomes one of good order as individual actors begin to resemble automata.

12

Autodesk Revit as Prosthetic Events leading up to the primer event and the experience of performance shifted the focus of my research from the agency of Revit software in coding terms, inaccessible behind an interface, toward an interest in our physical interaction with the hardware of the work station.

Revit BIM software provides architects and designers with the tools they need to develop accurate, higherquality architectural designs.

The day before the primer event, while constructing the foot pedal mechanism for the installation, my right index finger was inadvertently fed into a belt sander. The resulting abrasion to the distal phalanx, and the operation of a clunky wooden foot pedal as part of the performance, shifted the emphasis of my project enquiry into a study of our physical interaction with Revit as a prosthetic device to the designer.

From concept to visualisation, Revit software offers features for every phase of your project. Use its powerful BIM (Building Information Modelling) tools to capture and communicate your creative concepts and precise design intent.

The point of the click as the main form of interaction with tools used for design highlighted the agency of the system and revealed the designer as a flaneur, negotiating pre-determined pathways. Autodesk Revit would now be considered as a prosthetic limb to the designer, a vital component which forms part of the whole.

ADJECTIVE 1 Denoting an artificial body part, such as a limb, a heart, or a breast implant. ‘she has learnt to walk again using prosthetic legs’ 2 Linguistics Denoting a letter or syllable added at the beginning of a word, as in Spanish escuela derived from Latin scola.

NOUN Prosthesis

Autodesk 1.1 treated as singular The branch of surgery concerned with the making and fitting of artificial body parts.

Oxford English Dictionary

13

David Wills - Prosthesis 14

15

A change in our bodily interaction, such as a prosthetic leg, means a familiar bicycle ride suddenly becomes a difficult apprenticeship.

Now you feel the apparatus, it becomes clumsy and what was familiar is thrown into an uncanny warp concentrated at the point of contact.

David Wills in Prosthesis

16

prosthetic intermediaries alternative modes of engagement with revit

In considering Autodesk Revit as a prosthetic device to the designer, David Will’s Prosthesis became a key influence in the philosophy of the project.

David Wills posits the prosthetic limb as an ingrained part of the body, which acts as an extension of self, though one which is different and other, with an act of translation necessary as agency shifts between the entities.

The experience of performing the primer event opened an interest in how intermediate prosthetic apparatus can affect our means of design while operating an Autodesk Revit work station, simultaneously drawing our attention to and affecting the binary act of the click as our key mode of input.

Through placing intermediate devices between the user and work station I would study the effects on the human body, the subjects ability to design, and efficiency of production.

Each prosthetic device has the potential to improve or reduce efficiency in the operation of Revit, and can be used to call into question our relationship with the computer and software. I wondered what architectures would result in placing a inhibiting device before software geared toward efficient production of design and drawings for buildings to be assembled from standard components?

I would explore where agency lies when a designer is embedded within the system of the work station, which takes on the duality of a prosthetic limb as the technician negotiates the labyrinthine meander of the interface.

duplication device

drawing theatre

distal thalanx extensions

drawing machine

17

duplication device The first prosthetic device was constructed to enable running of the processing code to record the modellers actions. Actions for the Revit station were to be duplicated for a second computer which would run the processing script and provide a record of the modeller’s physical interaction.

Two mechanisms were constructed to be placed between the keyboard and mouse. The keyboard device would duplicate key presses from the Revit station to the second computer using a lever mounted on a sliding bed. The mouse device placed the two components in a housing which linked the position of each mouse, with the aid of orthogonal slide runners to keep the two mice in parallel. A pulley system over the Revit station mouse would enable the technician to simultaneously activate clicks on both machines.

18

distal thalanx extensions The second prosthetic device sought to adapt the first system to one which is more reliant on technique.

The keyboard duplication device was replaced with distal thalanx extensions, so that the technician would activate the buttons for each machine simultaneously. I found that once good technique was learned, this mode of interaction was more efficient than the first device which was constructed from cumbersome hardware which provided accurate duplication.

19

standard floats import processing.pdf.*; float stcvA = 0; float stcvB = 0; float stcvC = 1920; float stcvD = 1080; PShape stcv; float cursorstroke = 22; int keyclick = 0; boolean mclicked = false; float clickcontain = 0; int mclick = 1; float mastery = 42; float xtranslatevect = 1;

drawing setup void setup() { size(1920, 1080); smooth(); frameRate(50); background(255); beginRecord(PDF, “mydrawing-####.pdf”); textFont(createFont(“Helvetica”, 10)); textSize(32); }

mouse click void mouseClicked() { if (mclick == 0) { clickcontain = clickcontain+1; cursorstroke = 1; } else { mclick = 0; redraw(); } }

draw script void draw() { { stcv = createShape(RECT, stcvA, stcvB, stcvC, stcvD); strokeWeight(cursorstroke); cursorstroke = cursorstroke+0.15; } float masterx = (((clickcontainxtranslatevect)*212)+16); //keyboard inputs { if (keyPressed) { keyclick = 1; } else { keyclick = 0; } } if (keyclick == 1) { pushMatrix(); translate(masterx, mastery); scale(0.1); fill(255, 0, 0); rect(mouseX, mouseY, 15, 15); keypress(); keypressprimitives(); popMatrix(); } clickcountcheck(); //mouse colour change { if (mouseButton == LEFT) { stroke(12, 82, 164, 50); } else if (mouseButton == RIGHT) { stroke(196, 54, 30, 50); } else { stroke(20, 20, 20, 7); } } //all canvas transforms pushMatrix(); translate(masterx, mastery); noFill(); scale(0.1); shape(stcv); line(pmouseX, pmouseY, pmouseX, pmouseY); popMatrix(); }

processing code The first two tests with prosthetic apparatus would engage directly with the Revit work station.

The code used for recording of the physical input was written in processing and ran on a second machine. This code would generate a punchcard type transcript of the users actions.

It was anticipated that these recordings could be analysed for specific moments in the act of design, and eventually re-run for a third party to enact the design process.

dwelling plan Following the initial set of tests and research I became more confident in attempting to model with Revit whilst the duplication apparatus was in place. A simple ground floor plan of a terrace dwelling was modelled in tandem with the recording code.

I found that there was an increased reliance on the mouse as input device rather than keyboard (usually the reverse is true) as I felt under pressure to continue clicking at regular intervals in order to prevent the lineweight from becoming too thick.

This had the effect of forcing me into design decisions more regularly than might usually be the case. The complete recordings shown overleaf are displayed in the original punch card format and as a layered palimpsest which reveals the entire composite transcript at time intervals of one third.

20

key press registers key = 0; } if (key==’`’) { endRecord(); } } void keypressprimitives() { if (keyPressed) { if (key == BACKSPACE) { text(“BCKSPC”, mouseX+15, mouseY+15); } if (key == TAB) { text(“TAB”, mouseX+15, mouseY+15); } if (key == ENTER) { text(“ENT”, mouseX+15, mouseY+15); } if (key == RETURN) { text(“RET”, mouseX+15, mouseY+15); } if (key == ESC) { text(“ESC”, mouseX+15, mouseY+15); } if (key == DELETE) { text(“DEL”, mouseX+15, mouseY+15); } } } void keypress() { if (key == ‘a’ || key == ‘A’) { text(“a”, mouseX+15, mouseY+15); } if (key == ‘b’ || key == ‘B’) { text(“b”, mouseX+15, mouseY+15); } if (key == ‘c’ || key == ‘C’) { text(“c”, mouseX+15, mouseY+15); }

click counter void clickcountcheck(){ if ((clickcontain >= 1) && (clickcontain <= 6)) { xtranslatevect = 1; mastery = 42; } if ((clickcontain >= 7) && (clickcontain <= 12)) { xtranslatevect = 7; mastery = 170; } if ((clickcontain >= 13) && (clickcontain <= 18)) { xtranslatevect = 13; mastery = 298; } } void keyPressed() { if (key == ESC) {

As I first began to use the machine it took several attempts to begin modelling before I learnt how to adapt to the restrictions of the device.

model start

The punchcard illustrates the time taken between clicks by the thickness of each frame border. The first attempt to begin modelling was quickly abandoned after I found that the mouse clicks from the Revit station were not registering on the recording script due to give in the physical apparatus.

The second test, copy fail, shows my difficulty in operating the keyboard with the device in place, as the keyboard shortcut â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;CCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; fails to register.

copy fail

The third test illustrates the time taken to open and update a standard Revit template, indicated by the thick boundaries to the first set of frames.

saving standard template

As I negotiated the physical inhibitations of the device, I found that the (usually efficient) act of modelling, was slowed down as I concentrated on working through the prosthetic intermediary to accurately record my actions.

My focus on negotiating the machine led me to seek shortcuts for design, as the laborious process of developing the model pressed me to find efficient shortcuts.

The search for ideal homes standard documents my search online to try and find a standard good practice dwelling plan from which I could develop my own design.

lifetime homes search

21

complete transcript

22

1/3

2/3

3/3 composite transcript

23

Eventually the entire personality and body of the designer becomes the site of the design task... in the ecstasy of the work... the draughtsman forgets both his hand and pencil, and the image emerges as if it were an automatic projection of the imagining mind.

Juhani Pallasmaa in The Thinking Hand

24

25

drawing theatre A third test would examine how the entire body could be involved in the act of Revit modelling. This test was influenced by Juhani Pallasmaaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s image of a designer in a state of ecstasy, forgetting their body and at one with their prosthetic tools.

For this test, a coding system was devised based on processing language and my existing knowledge of Revit tools and shortcuts, which would enable me to transmit instructions to a receiver at a Revit station who would implement the actions required.

The process began with the drawing of a ground floor dwelling plan in chalk at large scale (1:5). At this scale the act of design became an embodied task as the dimensions of the drawing are felt in the body. Once the drawing was complete, I annotated it with dimensions in preparation for transmittal to the Revit receiver.

Commands were issued using symbols and standard keyboard shortcuts in a combination of code and shorthand. The format of classes such as wall types, windows and doors were first declared as parameter templates for components, which were later described during the drawing process. Each element of the drawing was indexed as a component in order of instruction, with annotation to the chalk drawing in parallel. The gestures and contortions of the body required for this modelling process were also mapped.

code transmit

26

initial sketch

original drawing detail

27

timelapse of code transmit

equals approximately

start command end character end command

open sq bracket close sq bracket

keyboard input left click mouse

open rnd bracket close rnd bracket

forward stroke hash

datum reference plane point vector component coordinate

plus minus divide decimal point

for...

question

number at

start

dimension angle

view type component/plan view

direction

elevation

grid

section

level

number

coding system

28

open component close component

standard alphanumerics

study of code transmit

29

Communications sciences and modern biologies are constructed by a common move â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the translation of the world into a problem of coding - a search for a common language in which all resistance to instrumental control disappears and all heterogeneity can be submitted to disassembly, reassembly, investment and exchange.

Donna Haraway in Cyborg Manifesto

30

code transcript WN.TYPE.1{ { VIEW.TYPE=ELEVATION ↔.X=1810; ↕.Y=900; SH=V+900; HH=V+1800; } { VIEW.TYPE=PLAN ↔.X=50; ↕.Y=1810; ḹ.MID.X = HOST.ḹ.MID; VOID(HOST). (∞, ↕.Y); } } WA.TYPE.1{ { VIEW.TYPE=PLAN ↔.X=300; ↕.Y=VARIABLE; ḹ.MID.X = (ḹ. EXT+ Ǿ (↔.X/2)); STRUCTURE{ MAT[1](102.5); MAT[2](52.5); MAT[3](120); MAT[4] (25); } }

SETUP{ ۞ SCALE=(1:5)█ ۞ ORIGIN=(0,0) █ } CONSTRUCT{ ۞ ô[A]=[OR] █ ۞ ░WA@ ô[A]■ █ ۞ ô[B]= Ǿ(A+9300, A+0) ■ █ ۞ ô[C]= Ǿ(B+0, B+6400) ■ █ ۞ ô[D]= Ǿ(C-9300, C+0) ■ █ ۞ WA.TYPE=[1] █ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞

░CC.WA[1]■ █ Ǿ(0, +3500)■ █ WA[5]=WA.TYPE[2] █ ░CC.WA[2]■ █ Ǿ(-5100, 0)■ █ WA[6]=WA.TYPE[2] █ WA[5]<=#(WA[6].[Y], +3500), >=#(WA[2].[Y], +3500) █

۞

ḹ[1] Ǿ.<=#((WA[1].[MID]), Ǿ.>=(WA[1].[MID].Y, (WA[1].[MID].Y+1000) ) █

۞

ḹ[2] Ǿ.<=#((WA[4].[MID]), Ǿ.>=(WA[4].[MID].Y+1000, (WA[4].[MID].X) ) █

۞

░WN, WN.TYPE=[1], WN[1].HOST=WA[2], WN[1].<=#(WA[2].Y, +845), WN[1].>=#(WA[2].Y, (WN.<+1810)) █

۞ ۞ ۞

░MI, WN[1],@ ḹ [1]■ █ ░MI, WN[2],@ ḹ [2]■ █ ░DEL, WN[2], ░ENT █

۞

░DR, DR.TYPE=[1], DR[1].HOST=WA[2], DR[1].<=#(WA[2].Y, (WA[3].X+1200)), DR[1].>=#(DR[1].Y, (DR[1].[<]-910))■ █

۞

░DR, DR.TYPE=[2], DR[2].HOST=WA[5], DR[2].<=#((WA[2].Y-1200), (WA[5].Y), DR[2].>=#((DR[2].[<]-840), WA[5].X))■ █

۞

░DR, DR.TYPE=[3], DR[3].HOST=WA[6], DR[3].<=#(WN[1].Y, WA[6].X), DR[3].>=#(WA[6].X, (WA[6].<+1810))■ █

۞

░CC, DR[3], TRANSLATE.Ǿ((WA[4].Y-WA[6].Y), 0), DR[4].HOST=WA[4]■ █

۞

DR[4], DR.TYPE=[4] █

31

drawing machine A drawing machine to transcribe the physical actions of a draughtsman was constructed as a development from the prosthetic intermediary tests on the Revit technician.

Two timber frames mounted above and below the desk are linked with steel runners and twine to record the physical movements of the hand. During production of the original drawing a secondary recording of the actions involved is transcribed below.

The hand is suspended in a sling which transfers the movement of each limb via pulleys to the recording apparatus below. Spring loaded pencils are mounted on slide runners and change position from their base point as the draughtsman develops their drawing.

The desk was not tested until later in the project, when it was used to develop site plans.

drawing table in use

32

It is not clear what is mind and what is body in machines that resolve into coding practices.

Donna Haraway in Cyborg Manifesto

studies of interaction with drawing table

33

the interface coded agency of the revit station

Viewing the raw code of the Revit file from the dwelling plan developed in prosthetic test 1 revealed the interface as the only means of interaction.

The information of the drawing is transcribed as inaccessible code, isolated from its original meaning when viewed without the lens of Revit.

The code begins with a declaration of alphabet, before logging model information in unrecognisable symbols. Some elements of the text revealed the double meanings of machine language which offered poetic readings when read as English.

This study prompted an interest in how the interface shapes our engagement with the drawing and its psychological implications.

behind the interface

ÐÏࡱ á > <?> þÿ

þÿÿÿ ) * ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ýÿÿÿþÿÿÿþÿÿÿ<?>

þÿÿÿ

34 ! “ # $ % & ‘ ( ) * + , - . / 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 : ; < = > ? @ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z [ \ ] ^ _ ` a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z { | } ~ € ‚ ƒ „ … † ‡ ˆ ‰ Š ‹ Œ Ž ‘ ’ “ ” • – — ˜ ™ š › œ ž Ÿ ¡ ¢ £ ¤ ¥ ¦ § ¨ © ª « ¬ ­ ® ¯ ° ± ² ³ ´ µ ¶ · ¸ ¹ º » ¼ ½ ¾ ¿ À Á Â Ã Ä Å Æ Ç È É Ê Ë Ì Í Î Ï Ð Ñ Ò Ó Ô Õ Ö × Ø Ù Ú Û Ü Ý Þ ß à á â ã ä å æ ç è é ê ë ì í î ï ð ñ ò ó ô õ ö ÷ ø ù ú û ü ý þ ÿ <?> R o o t E n t r y ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ<?> ° LjñiÓ°­ ŒlñiÓ

ÿÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ

ÀÔŒlñiÓ @ Formats RevitPreview4.0 Z Global • jñiÓ@ú±jñiÓ Partitions

P!²jñiÓ ¤‡lñiÓ Contents ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ U <?> TransmissionDat a “ ÿÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿ , “ BasicFileInfo ÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ l

ProjectInformation & ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ G 0 <?> ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ + Z DocumentIncrementTable . ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ r « History ÿÿÿÿ ¡ ö’ PartitionTable ÿÿÿÿ o ‰ ContentDocument s “ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ 3 +Ò ElemTable ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ÿÿ ) î’ Latest ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ! ñ| Latest ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ 2 ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ

<?>

34

! “ # $ % & ‘ ( ) * + þÿÿÿ- . / 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 : ; < = > ? @ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T þÿÿÿV W X Y þÿÿÿ[ \ ] ^ _ ` a b c d e f g h i j k l m n þÿÿÿp q þÿÿÿs t þÿÿÿÿÿÿ-4F76-AFE78F0D7524ABFB}.project.xml•TÁŽ›0½Wê?X¾ƒ!QÔ +Ôn«ºYµé¥—È“Ä ØÈ6IøûÚ@‚ÓMÓô†=oÞ›y3&~8V%ÚƒTLð<?>‡~€ð\ŒoücùÙ{ Ò·obàZ¶È€¹JðVë:”äp8ø‡©/ä†L‚`F2-*Üc¢,Á ä‘Ê· PQåÑF‹ÔÎËEÕTjj±i¬™.!ÝŠF cÒã¦.¨†” <?>á;/½i°gÑôC4 ýŒÉ) g‘¦GÁEÕ ” UJµ‹$ì™6Tö”.é”i6¨£o}¬¿ ‰Kpƒ,ÚHÑÔÆ‘[¬èË t ¾d|‡$” 6)lýI ‘nkH0­ ë’åT› ¹×34m%¬ìc[Ô€^3ë‹!týò ºSé]Ë¢ZŠ¢Éu:´9^Œ1o˜uç­ 9ßèmûǸý¾¨ Ø.-à ¨n$(ç{¬þYŠ_ k4çk!«®ï‹.:·Gø¼0»Çt‹>QM q ¤<r › eœ–­ b꾤…Þ‚t C™«¹R ¬Œ8 ‚©º¤í­ ÌØÎmظ-N U­ ÒPõ§Åú™Jƒ7‹“à%5NÇ„˜¼ …¿›GÒ¨ë¢}ìNÁˤQ´?§ñÇ’ ‹WVáR­{¸SjqàÖD‡qì’+ ³ ih

þSækSjfÖP/øÈÍ5¢ µ™ cêÀ9VðºÃ“ü ´è¦ŒZ—­ >5Õ‹)ëºT

»S,[øÁÔwdºdw ‰óˆûòH÷Ë6ÿîßPK –È9á`- ä \ C:\Users\AJBLAN~1\AppData\ Local\Temp\Revit{282CC6FF-8B22-4F76-AFE7-8F0D7524ABFB}.project.xmlPK Š § / Autodesk Revit 2017 (Build: 20160225_ 1515(x64))+ D:\St6\Dec 15 Review\Punch card\h ouse 1.rvt $ 00000000-0000-0000-0000-0000000 00000 ENU $ b1a53741-fa91-480d-8c57-5281415b eaf5$ b1a53741-fa91-480d-8c57-5281415beaf5 1$ 00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000 Worksharing: Not enabled Username: Central

Model

Path:

Revit Build: Autodesk 60225_1515(x64)) Last Save Path: ard\house 1.rvt Open

Workset

Project

Revit

D:\St6\Dec

Default:

Spark

File:

All

when

Local

saved:

Changes

15

(Build:

201

Review\Punch

c

0 00000000-0000-0000-0

ENU Saved

To

Central:

Central model‘s version number to the last reload latest: 1

0

corresponding

Central model‘s episode GUID corresponding to the last reload latest: b1a53741-fa91-480d-8c 57-5281415beaf5 Unique Document 7-5281415beaf5 Unique

Document

GUID:

b1a53741-fa91-480d-8c5

Increments:

1

Model Identity: 00000000-0000-0000-0000-000 000000000 <?xml version=“1.0“?> <TransmissionData isTransmitted=“false“ user Data=““ version=“5“><ExternalFileReference><E lementId>106047</ElementId><ExternalFileRefer enceType>Keynote Table</ExternalFileReference Type><LastSavedPath>RevitKeynotes_GBR.txt</La stSavedPath><LastSavedAbsolutePath>C:\Program Data\Autodesk\RVT 2017\Libraries\UK\RevitKeyn otes_GBR.txt</LastSavedAbsolutePath><LastSave dPathType>Relative to Library Locations</Las tSavedPathType><LastSavedLoadState>Loaded</L astSavedLoadState><DesiredPath>RevitKeynotes_ GBR.txt</DesiredPath><DesiredPathType>Relativ e to Library Locations</DesiredPathType><Desi redLoadState>Loaded</DesiredLoadState></Exter nalFileReference><ExternalFileReference><Elem entId>251762</ElementId><ExternalFileReferenc eType>Assembly Code Table</ExternalFileRefere nceType><LastSavedPath>UniformatClassificatio ns.txt</LastSavedPath><LastSavedAbsolutePath> C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RVT 2017\Libraries\UK \UniformatClassifications.txt</LastSavedAbsol utePath><LastSavedPathType>Relative to Librar y Locations</LastSavedPathType><LastSavedLoad State>Loaded</LastSavedLoadState><DesiredPath >UniformatClassifications.txt</DesiredPath><D esiredPathType>Relative to Library Locations< /DesiredPathType><DesiredLoadState>Loaded</De siredLoadState></ExternalFileReference></Tra nsmissionData> b ”

34

C

I attempted to design using the transmittal code independently of a drawing, however this test ended in failure as I was unable to reference the spatiality which I produced.

I surveyed my own dwelling and used a hand drawn plan to index each building component. Using this annotated drawing I then scripted instructions to model the dwelling using Revit.

SETUP{ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ }

UNITS(MILLIMETRES) █ ORIGIN = (0,0) █ ɖ[0] = 0 █ Ṿ[-1] = -2600 █ Ṿ[0] = 0 █ Ṿ[1] = 2600 █ Ṿ[2] = 5200 █ Ṿ[3] = 7800 █

CONSTRUCT{ ۞ ¶ = □ @ Ṿ[0] █ { ۞ ô[A] = #(0,0) @ Ṿ[0] █ ۞ ô[B] = #(-5800,0) @ Ṿ[0] █ ۞ ô[C] = #(-5800,-18300) @ Ṿ[0] █ ۞ ô[D] = #(0,-18300) @ Ṿ[0] █ ۞ ░ wa; WA[N].TYPE = WALL1; ■@ô[A]; ■@ô[B]; ■@ô[C]; ■@ô[D] █ ۞ WA[1,2,3,4].BASE = Ṿ[0] █ ۞ WA[1,2,3,4].TOP = Ṿ[1] █ //bay window construction ۞ ḹ[1] = Ǿ(A,D); {TRANSLATE Ǿ(1200,0)} █ ۞ ḹ[2] = ḹ[1]; {TRANSLATEǾ(-1810,0)} █ ۞ ḹ[3] = ḹ[1]; {TRANSLATEǾ((↕.X(ḹ[1], ḹ[2]) ÷ 2 *-1), 0)} █ ۞ ░ cc; WA[1]; {TRANSLATEǾ(0, 500)} █ ۞ ░ cc; WA[4]; {TRANSLATEǾ(WA[4].X @ ḹ[1].X)} █ ۞ WA[4] < = WA[1].MID; WA[4] > = WA[5].MID; █ ۞ ░ ro; WA[6]; {ROTATE∟(+45 @ #(WA[6].MID))} █ ۞ ░ mi; WA[6] @ ḹ[3] █ ۞ SPLIT; WA[1] @ (INTERSECTION(WA[1] & ḹ[3]) █ ۞ ░ tr; (WA[8], WA[7]); (WA[7], WA[5]); (WA[5], WA[6]); (WA[6], WA[1]); █ //carve external space and add internal partitions ۞ ḹ[4] = ǾWA[8].MID; {TRANSLATEǾ(0, -4450)} █ ۞ ░ mi; WA[8] @ ḹ[4] █ ۞ ░ cc; WA[2]; {TRANSLATEǾ(1500,0)} █ ۞ WA[10].TYPE = WALL2; █ ۞ ░ cc; WA[10]; {TRANSLATEǾ(800,0)} █ ۞ ░ cc; WA[2]; {TRANSLATEǾ(2800,0)} █ ۞ ░ wa; WA[13].TYPE = WALL2; WA[13] < = (INTERSECTION(WA[4] & ḹ[4]); WA[13] > = (INTERSECTION(WA[11] & ḹ[4]); █ ۞ ░ cc; WA[13]; {TRANSLATEǾ(0,1000)} █ ۞ ░ tr; (WA[3], WA[12]); (WA[12], WA[9]); (WA[9], WA[4]); (WA[12], WA[13]); (WA[13], WA[11]); (WA[11], WA[14]); (WA[14], WA[10]); █ //copy walls to first floor ۞ COPY; WA[8,2,3,12,9,4,13] @ Ṿ[1]; WA[8,2,3,12,9,4,13].TOP = Ṿ[2] █ ۞ EXTEND; WA[21].> @ WA[17].MID █ //ground floor ۞ FLOOR; FLOOR[1].TYPE = TYPE 1, FLOOR[1].Ṿ = Ṿ[0]; REGION = BOUNDARY. WA[1,6,5,7,8,2,3,9,4].MID █

3

Central Model Identity: 000-000000000000 Locale

2017

The next test of the project would delve further into the code developed for transmittal of a drawing to a Revit modeller, and examine the information that is lost in this act of translation from an original to an encoded version held in isolation.

<?> <?> <?> <?> <?> <?>

//first floor ۞ FLOOR; FLOOR[2].TYPE = TYPE 2, FLOOR[2]. Ṿ = Ṿ[1]; REGION = BOUNDARY. WA[16,17,18,19,20,15].MID █ //additional first floor partition walls ۞ ░ cc; WA[16]; {TRANSLATEǾ(0,2800)} █ ۞ WA[22].TYPE = WALL2; █

The turn to cybernetics in architecture was pushed especially by Reyner Banham. His accounts of being transported to some transcendental realm of experience in the fusion of man-machine-nature have reappeared in contemporary architectural fantasies of techno-environmental immersion, of the channelling and steering of the subject, of its giving itself over freely to the sensory enjoyments of a cybernetic spatial condition.

Douglas Spencer in The Architecture of Neoliberalism

35

house for a revit technician The ancient memory theorists believed you could consolidate natural memory with the right training. They invented a topographical system, the Method of Loci, an imaginary mnemonics which consisted of selecting a sequence of places, locations, that could easily be ordered in time and space. For example, you might imagine wandering through the house, choosing as loci various tables, a chair seen through a doorway, a windowsill, a mark on the wall. Next, the material to be remembered is coded into discrete images and each of the images is inserted in the appropriate order into the various loci. To memorise a speech, you transform the main points into concrete images and mentally â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;placeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; each of the points in order at each of the successive locus. When it is time to deliver the speech, all you have to do is recall the parts of the house in order.

When typography replaced oral transfer of knowledge, the ephemeral, aural and pictorial mental symbols transformed into widespread and permanent, printed images of words.

Penelope Haralambidou in Marcel Duchamp and the Architecture of Desire

36

Based on the House of Loci, The House for a Revit Technician beta project examined the spatial form of the Revit interface as a means for accessing predetermined components in order to assemble a building.

Here was an attempt to illustrate spatially the place in which a Revit technician dwells as the negotiate the interface to manipulate the coding of models.

37

02. tools for thinking about architecture

04. experimental architecture 03. s6 thesis project part 1

parametric revit technician 04. experimental architecture

The work for the experimental architecture module is closely tied with the thesis design project, set within the Intoxicated Practices/ Intensities of Production Studio. The design studio follows the philosophy and working methods proposed by Jane Rendell in A Place Between: Art, Architecture and Critical Theory. Rendell suggests that for critical practice the journey is as important as the destination, and asserts that:

‘‘Thinking between demands that we call into question what we normally take for granted, that we question our methodologies, the ways we do things, and our terminologies, what we call what we do.’’

It is this philosophical context which informs the initial point of analysis of the thesis design project - the mode of practice of an Autodesk Revit technician - which is shaped by the software and hardware used as tools for production.

Whilst the initial explorations of the thesis project studied our physical interaction with the software, as the experimental module progressed I was increasingly interested in and able to work with the coding language of systems.

If parametricism can be considered as an ideological product of orthodox modernism, how this system could be extended to the point of production - that is - to the Revit technician? A project plan was developed to investigate how the infometric data of the Revit technician’s actions could be translated into telemetry for new sensory information.

It was hoped that this experiment would become a precursor to a more developed model in which all factors affecting the design, procurement, and construction of the built environment are experienced by the figure at the heart of production. This model would form an ultimate encapsulation of parametric design as the technician becomes intoxicated by sensed and intuited information, transcending their immediate physical boundaries.

The brief was informed by a number of theorists and precedents. Juhani Pallasmaa’s philosophy of a multi sensory, immersive and embodied mode of design and production was critical to the brief development.

Further precedents were provided by the Radiolab podcast episode Translation (season 13 episode 1) which describes two cases of translation of phenomena. The first case is that of Emily Garcio, who, struck blind after an accident, received glasses with a camera wired to a piece of titanium around the size of a postage stamp, filled with thousands of electrodes. The camera would convert images into patterns of electricity on the titanium, which Emily would place on the centre of her tongue.

Emily described the sensation as a tickling, like ‘a lot of coca cola on your tongue, with a prickly feeling.’ After around a week of wearing the device, Emily began to intuit visual stimulus, and described perceiving people as shimmering shifts of light whilst walking along the street.

The second case is the variable extra sensory transducer (VEST) project

by Tim Howard & David Eagleman. This project takes the form of a vest garment which is worn underneath clothing with 24 vibrating motors attached. Here it is worth quoting the podcast at length:

‘‘The vest connects to a cell phone and picks up sound which is converted to patterns of vibration on the vest. The pattern changes every 20 milliseconds, and it seems impossible to pick up information about what is being said, but, over the course of 12 days, people get really good at word recognition.

If you try to concentrate on it and figure out exactly how each motor translates to some part of the sound, you would never figure it out. But the good news is, you don’t have to do it consciously, the brain is a specialist at extracting statistical information.’’

The Radiolab producers Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich speculate whether this technology could be used to experience the state of other systems such as the stock market, and enable the formation of unconscious, instinctive knowledge.

After researching these cases further a number of precedent devices were found which translate phenomena through tactile feedback using vibrating motors. This principle would drive the next stage of the project.

alpha test extra sensory shirt

The alpha test would provide live feedback of a subjects heart rate and perspiration levels through tactile response. This first test would check the function of hardware components, including the Galvanic Skin Response, Heart Rate Monitor, and Vibrating Motor Units. (GSR, HRM and VMU) Ten VMUs were attached to silicon gloves for contact at the finger nail. The GSR unit provided skin surface resistance data from two finger sleeve connections, while the heart rate monitor used an ear clip to receive the fluctuations in the pulse. The data from the GSR and HRM was remapped from original signal levels to provide corresponding intensity and speed to the VMU voltage bandwidth, which in turn offered live feedback of body condition to the subject.

The effect of the first test was a heightened sensation of the natural pulse, felt through the fingertips and along the whole nerve system of the arm. The experience was uncanny as the sensation of the GSR and HRM on each hand led to blurring of the signal source and indefinite perception of which vibration corresponded to each phenomena. The confusion effect of combining signal sources into a single source of tactile feedback could be pursued further or mitigated in the following tests.

initial prototype

38

05. s6 thesis project part 2

arduino power heart rate monitor ear clip

arduino uno unit

silicon glove

arduino power

galvanic skin response sleeves vibrating motor units

arduino uno unit

silicon glove

vibrating motor units

initial prototype hardware schematic

set pls connection to analog pin input // pls sensor initial float // pls sensor average initial float // set motor connections to pin outputs //

speed of data read and transmission // set motor pin function as output //

sum of 5 measurements to remove any glitches //

update plssensorValue float to analog PLS input // take cumulative sum for average calculation // abritrary delay to limit amount of data read // take average reading from sum // remap average reading to suitable voltage output // print voltage value // arbitrary delay to limit amount of data read // check voltage intensity // call pulsesig function for all fingers //

const int PLS = A0; int plssensorValue = 0; int pls_average = 0; const int motorPin1 = 3; const int motorPin2 = 5; const int motorPin3 = 6; const int motorPin4 = 9; const int motorPin5 = 10; const int motorPin6 = 11;

set gsr connections to analog pin input // gsr sensor initial float // gsr sensor average initial float // set motor connections to pin outputs //

void setup() { Serial.begin(9600);. pinMode(motorPin1, OUTPUT); pinMode(motorPin2, OUTPUT); pinMode(motorPin3, OUTPUT); pinMode(motorPin4, OUTPUT); pinMode(motorPin5, OUTPUT); pinMode(motorPin6, OUTPUT); }

speed of data read and transmission // set motor pin function as output //

void loop() { long sum = 0; for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) { plssensorValue = analogRead(PLS); sum += plssensorValue; delay(5); } pls_average = sum / 5; pls_average = map(pls_average, 0, 1200, 0, 250); Serial.println(pls_average); delay(20); if (pls_average >= 0 & pls_average <= 250) { pulsesig(motorPin1); pulsesig(motorPin2); pulsesig(motorPin3); pulsesig(motorPin4); pulsesig(motorPin5); } }

pulsesig function // void pulsesig(int motorPin) { write voltage level to motor integer // analogWrite(motorPin, pls_average); }

sum of 10 measurements to remove any glitches //

update gsrsensorValue float to analog GSR input // take cumulative sum for average calculation // arbitrary delay to limit amount of data read // take average reading from sum // remap average reading to suitable voltage output // print voltage value //

const int GSR = A0; int gsrsensorValue = 0; int gsr_average = 0; const int motorPin1 = 3; const int motorPin2 = 5; const int motorPin3 = 6; const int motorPin4 = 9; const int motorPin5 = 10; const int motorPin6 = 11; void setup() { Serial.begin(9600); pinMode(motorPin1, OUTPUT); pinMode(motorPin2, OUTPUT); pinMode(motorPin3, OUTPUT); pinMode(motorPin4, OUTPUT); pinMode(motorPin5, OUTPUT); pinMode(motorPin6, OUTPUT); } void loop() { long sum = 0; for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) { gsrsensorValue = analogRead(GSR); sum += gsrsensorValue; delay(5); } gsr_average = sum / 10; gsr_average = map(gsr_average, 200, 600, 100, 200); Serial.println(gsr_average); //print voltage value.

these parameters assign the voltage // intensity range across five fingers call gsrindex function //

}

if (gsr_average >= 90 & gsr_average <= 120) { gsrindex(motorPin1); } if (gsr_average >= 120 & gsr_average <= 140) { gsrindex(motorPin2); } if (gsr_average >= 140 & gsr_average <= 160) { gsrindex(motorPin3); } if (gsr_average >= 160 & gsr_average <= 180) { gsrindex(motorPin4); } if (gsr_average >= 180 & gsr_average <= 200) { gsrindex(motorPin5); }

gsrindex function // void gsrindex(int motorPin) { write voltage level to motor integer // analogWrite(motorPin, gsr_average); time delay for pulse effect as a function of voltage level // delay(5000 / gsr_average); reduced intensity pulse // analogWrite(motorPin, 30); time delay for pulse effect as a function of voltage level // delay(5000 / gsr_average); }

initial code for prototype test 39

Whilst developing the alpha test, raw stock market data was studied to explore possible means of mapping the markets for translation through extra sensory means. In order to take a step toward this aim, I opted to use a computational model of a dynamic system as a metaphor for the markets.

This design move was partly inspired by the film Pi (1998) in which the protagonist, Max Cohen, seeks to predict the stock market and believes he finds a key to nature in the form of a 216 digit number sequence.

For the beta test. the expansion and contraction of the London Stock Exchange was reimagined as a diffusion limited aggregation system. The development of a computational model within processing would offer increased potential for control of the starting parameters of the system and enable live visualisation of the data.

With this shift in design, the emphasis would be placed on the development of mapping and translation techniques used to provide tactile feedback of the changing qualities of the system.

40

gray-scott diffusion reaction test b A complex and dynamic computational model which could serve as a suitable metaphor for the fluid changes in stock markets was sought in the form of the Gray-Scott diffusion reaction. These reactions are a result of the meeting of two or more chemicals with different physical characteristics, and can lead to emergent, vibrant behaviour.

reaction B processing code system parameters

vector transformation

int N = 900;

void timestep(double F, double K, double diffU, double diffV) { for (int i = 0; i < N; i++) { for (int j = 0; j < N; j++) { int p = i + j*N;

double diffU; double diffV; double paramF; double paramK;

double u = U[i][j]; double v = V[i][j];

boolean rndInitCondition; A processing code provided as part of the Toxiclibs library was first used to test different parameters. Following these tests, a precedent code by Andrew Duncan hosted at openprocessing. org was used as a base for further tests and data collection.

int left = offset[i][0]; int right = offset[i][1]; int up = offset[j][0]; int down = offset[j][1];

double[][] U = new double[N][N]; double[][] V = new double[N][N]; double[][] dU = new double[N][N]; double[][] dV = new double[N][N];

double uvv = u*v*v;

int starta = 3; int startb = 7;

double lapU = (U[left][j] + U[right][j] + U[i][up] + U[i][down] - 4*u); double lapV = (V[left][j] + V[right][j] + V[i][up] + V[i][down] - 4*v);

int[][] offset = new int[N][2];

dU[i][j] = diffU*lapU - uvv + F*(1 - u);

initial state definitions void generateInitialState() { for (int i = 0; i < N; i++) { for (int j = 0; j < N; j++) { U[i][j] = 1.0; //initialise array U with number 1 V[i][j] = 0.0; //initialise array V with number 0 } }

}

if (rndInitCondition) { for (int i = N/startb; i < 2*N/startb; i++) { for (int j = N/startb; j < 2*N/startb; j++) { U[i][j] = 0.5*(1 + random(-1, 1)); V[i][j] = 0.25*( 1 + random(-1, 1)); } } for (int i = (N/startb+200); i < (2*N/startb+200); i++) { for (int j = N/startb; j < 2*N/startb; j++) { U[i][j] = 0.5*(1 + random(-1, 1)); V[i][j] = 0.25*( 1 + random(-1, 1)); } } for (int i = (N/startb+400); i < (2*N/startb+400); i++) { for (int j = N/startb; j < 2*N/startb; j++) { U[i][j] = 0.5*(1 + random(-1, 1)); V[i][j] = 0.25*( 1 + random(-1, 1)); } } //second row //third row } } }

}

}

}

dV[i][j] = diffV*lapV + uvv - (K+F)*v;

for (int i= 0; i < N; i++) { for (int j = 0; j < N; j++) { U[i][j] += dU[i][j]; V[i][j] += dV[i][j]; } }

draw void draw() { for (int k = 0; k < 10; k++) { timestep(paramF, paramK, diffU, diffV); }

}

for (int i = 0; i < N; i++) { for (int j = 0; j < N; j++) { set(i, j, color((float)(1-U[i][j]), (float)(1-U[i][j]), (float)(1-U[i][j]))); } }

setup void setup() { size(900, 900, P2D); frameRate(25); smooth(); colorMode(HSB, 1); diffU = 0.16; diffV = 0.08; paramF = 0.035; paramK = 0.06; rndInitCondition = true; generateInitialState(); for (int i = 1; i < N-1; i++) { offset[i][0] = i-1; offset[i][1] = i+1; }

offset configuration

offset[0][0] = N-1; offset[0][1] = 1;

}

offset[N-1][0] = N-2; offset[N-1][1] = 0;

The code for the Gray-Scott reaction uses two dimensional arrays which are input to a partial differential equation at the heart of the reaction.

Visual results of the behavioural physics were displayed on a pixel by pixel basis by cross referencing the arrays. After an initial set of tests it was found difficult to accurately map and measure the reaction phenomena through changes represented graphically. I decided to shift to a diffusion limited aggregation system modelled using a cell based array, which would improve functionality for gathering vector information.

41

diffusion limited aggregation system The diffusion limited aggregation system was developed using an array of cell classes, and would provide improved potential for reliable vector analysis and data collection.

An array of individual ellipsical cells were coded in processing with random start points, diameters, movement functions and a true or false boolean float. An initial seed cell (in true state) was set close to the canvas centrepoint which would catalyse a set of diffusion reactions as active (false state) cells moved within a limited distance. Once within range the boolean float would become true and the cell would rest in position.

An array of triangle segments would frame the reaction canvas in ten segments which were relayed to a set of ten motors at the fingertips. For each segment, any cells in the target area which were in â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;trueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; boolean state were further analysed to provide vector information from the origin point set to the centre of the array. The resulting vectors were remapped to a suitable voltage level and transmitted by serial to arduino uno receiver units, which transmitted the mapped data as tactile feedback to the fingertips. Each finger tip corresponded to an appropriate segment so that the tactile feedback would give the sensation of holding the particle system as an orb in the subjectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hands.

timelapse of dla system evolution

42

10

1

10 2

9

1

9

2

Î&#x201D; 3

8

4

7 6

10

8

3

7

4

5

6

5

1

9

2

8

3

4

7 6

5

mapping system

43

tactile response visualisation of diffusion limited aggregation system

44

arduino uno unit

arduino uno unit

vibrating motor units galvanic skin response sleeves

heart rate monitor ear clip

vibrating motor units

hardware schematic for tactile response of diffusion limited aggregation system

45

dla system transmit code system parameters import processing.pdf.*; import processing.serial.*; Serial PortLeft; Serial PortRight; PShape triangle1; PShape triangle2; PShape triangle3; PShape triangle4; PShape triangle5; PShape triangle6; PShape triangle7; PShape triangle8; PShape triangle9; PShape triangle10; float originx = 400; float originy = 400; float ax = 400; float ay = 0; float bx = 635.1; float by = 76.4; float cx = 780.4; float cy = 276.4; float dx = 780.4; float dy = 523.6; float ex = 635.1; float ey = 723.6; float fx = 400; float fy = 800; float gx = 164.9; float gy = 723.6; float hx = 19.6; float hy = 523.6; float kx = 19.6; float ky = 276.4; float lx = 164.9; float ly = 76.4; int iv1 = 0; int tv1 = 0; int iv2 = 0; int tv2 = 0; int iv3 = 0; int tv3 = 0; int iv4 = 0; int tv4 = 0; int iv5 = 0; int tv5 = 0; int iv6 = 0; int tv6 = 0; int iv7 = 0; int tv7 = 0; int iv8 = 0; int tv8 = 0; int iv9 = 0; int tv9 = 0; int iv10 = 0; int tv10 = 0; PVector origin = new PVector (400, 400); float framecount = 0; float framecount5 = 0; boolean record; Cell[] myCells = new Cell[1500];

setup

void setup() { size(800, 800, P2D); frameRate(25); smooth(); colorMode(RGB); background(255); String portZero = Serial.list()[0]; PortLeft = new Serial(this, portZero, 9600); String portOne = Serial.list()[1]; PortRight = new Serial(this, portOne, 9600); initiatetriangle(); for (int i=0; i<myCells.length; i++) { myCells[i] = new Cell(); }

}

myCells[0].location=new PVector (random(390, 410), random(390, 410)); myCells[0].isseed=true;

void framenumber() { if ((framecount5 -(int)framecount5) == 0) { record = true; } } void framenumber() { if ((framecount5) <= (int(10000))) { record = true; } }

( draw start )

draw array void draw() { framenumber(); if (record) { beginRecord(PDF, â&#x20AC;&#x153;frame-####.pdfâ&#x20AC;?); } for (int i=0; i<myCells.length; i++) { myCells[i].update(); myCells[i].display(); } for (int i=0; i<myCells.length; i++) { if (myCells[i].isseed==false) { for (int j=0; j<myCells.length; j++) { if (myCells[j].isseed==true) { float d; d=PVector.dist(myCells[i].location, myCells[j].location); if (d<8) { myCells[i].isseed=true; } } } } }

46

analyse segments and transmit

//segment 1 DLA analysis & transmit for (int i=0; i<myCells.length; i++) { if (myCells[i].isseed==true) { if (triangle1.contains((myCells[i].location.x), (myCells[i].location.y))) { iv1 = (int(PVector.dist(myCells[i].location, origin))); tv1 = (int(map(iv1, 0, 400, 0, 25))); PortRight.write(tv1); println(tv1); } } } //segment 2 DLA analysis & transmit for (int i=0; i<myCells.length; i++) { if (myCells[i].isseed==true) { if (triangle2.contains((myCells[i].location.x), (myCells[i].location.y))) { iv2 = (int(PVector.dist(myCells[i].location, origin))); tv2 = (int(map(iv2, 0, 400, 25, 50))); // PortRight.write(tv2); println(tv2); } } } //segment 3 DLA analysis & transmit for (int i=0; i<myCells.length; i++) { if (myCells[i].isseed==true) { if (triangle3.contains((myCells[i].location.x), (myCells[i].location.y))) { iv3 = (int(PVector.dist(myCells[i].location, origin))); tv3 = (int(map(iv3, 0, 400, 50, 75))); // PortRight.write(tv3); println(tv3); } } } //segment 4 DLA analysis & transmit for (int i=0; i<myCells.length; i++) { if (myCells[i].isseed==true) { if (triangle4.contains((myCells[i].location.x), (myCells[i].location.y))) { iv4 = (int(PVector.dist(myCells[i].location, origin))); tv4 = (int(map(iv4, 0, 400, 75, 100))); // PortRight.write(tv4); println(tv4); } } } //segment 5 DLA analysis & transmit for (int i=0; i<myCells.length; i++) { if (myCells[i].isseed==true) { if (triangle5.contains((myCells[i].location.x), (myCells[i].location.y))) { iv5 = (int(PVector.dist(myCells[i].location, origin))); tv5 = (int(map(iv5, 0, 400, 100, 125))); // PortRight.write(tv5); println(tv5); } } }

create segments void initiatetriangle() {

triangle1 = new PShape(PShape.PATH); triangle1.vertex(originx, originy); triangle1.vertex(ax, ay); triangle1.vertex(bx, by); triangle2 = new PShape(PShape.PATH); triangle2.vertex(originx, originy); triangle2.vertex(bx, by); triangle2.vertex(cx, cy);

analyse segments and transmit

//segment 6 DLA analysis & transmit for (int i=0; i<myCells.length; i++) { if (myCells[i].isseed==true) { if (triangle6.contains((myCells[i].location.x), (myCells[i].location.y))) { iv6 = (int(PVector.dist(myCells[i].location, origin))); tv6 = (int(map(iv6, 0, 400, 125, 150))); // PortLeft.write(tv6); println(tv6); } } }

triangle3 = new PShape(PShape.PATH); triangle3.vertex(originx, originy); triangle3.vertex(cx, cy); triangle3.vertex(dx, dy); triangle4 = new PShape(PShape.PATH); triangle4.vertex(originx, originy); triangle4.vertex(dx, dy); triangle4.vertex(ex, ey);

//segment 7 DLA analysis & transmit for (int i=0; i<myCells.length; i++) { if (myCells[i].isseed==true) { if (triangle7.contains((myCells[i].location.x), (myCells[i].location.y))) { iv7 = (int(PVector.dist(myCells[i].location, origin))); tv7 = (int(map(iv7, 0, 400, 150, 175))); // PortLeft.write(tv7); println(tv7); } } }

triangle5 = new PShape(PShape.PATH); triangle5.vertex(originx, originy); triangle5.vertex(ex, ey); triangle5.vertex(fx, fy); triangle6 = new PShape(PShape.PATH); triangle6.vertex(originx, originy); triangle6.vertex(fx, fy); triangle6.vertex(gx, gy); triangle7 = new PShape(PShape.PATH); triangle7.vertex(originx, originy); triangle7.vertex(gx, gy); triangle7.vertex(hx, hy);

//segment 8 DLA analysis & transmit for (int i=0; i<myCells.length; i++) { if (myCells[i].isseed==true) { if (triangle8.contains((myCells[i].location.x), (myCells[i].location.y))) { iv8 = (int(PVector.dist(myCells[i].location, origin))); tv8 = (int(map(iv8, 0, 400, 175, 200))); // PortLeft.write(tv8); println(tv8); } } } //segment 9 DLA analysis & transmit for (int i=0; i<myCells.length; i++) { if (myCells[i].isseed==true) { if (triangle9.contains((myCells[i].location.x), (myCells[i].location.y))) { iv9 = (int(PVector.dist(myCells[i].location, origin))); tv9 = (int(map(iv9, 0, 400, 200, 225))); // PortLeft.write(tv9); println(tv9); } } } //segment 10 DLA analysis & transmit for (int i=0; i<myCells.length; i++) { if (myCells[i].isseed==true) { if (triangle10.contains((myCells[i].location.x), (myCells[i].location.y))) { iv10 = (int(PVector.dist(myCells[i].location, origin))); tv10 = (int(map(iv10, 0, 400, 225, 250))); // PortLeft.write(tv10); println(tv10); } } }

triangle8 = new PShape(PShape.PATH); triangle8.vertex(originx, originy); triangle8.vertex(hx, hy); triangle8.vertex(kx, ky); triangle9 = new PShape(PShape.PATH); triangle9.vertex(originx, originy); triangle9.vertex(kx, ky); triangle9.vertex(lx, ly);

}

cell class

class Cell { PVector location = new PVector(); PVector velocity = new PVector(); float dia; boolean isseed; float cellred, cellgreen, cellblue; float lineweight; Cell() { location=new PVector (random(100, 700), random(100, 700)); dia = 2; isseed = false; cellred = 225; cellgreen = 225; cellblue = 225; lineweight = 0.01; }

frame counter update framecount = framecount + 1; framecount5 = (framecount/5);

} }

triangle10 = new PShape(PShape.PATH); triangle10.vertex(originx, originy); triangle10.vertex(lx, ly); triangle10.vertex(ax, ay);

void display() { if (isseed == true) { fill(255, 0, 0); noStroke(); }

if (record) { endRecord(); record = false;

if (isseed == false) { fill(cellred, cellgreen, cellblue); noStroke(); } }

( draw end ) }

ellipse(location.x, location.y, dia, dia);

void update() { if (isseed==false) { velocity=new PVector (random(-2, 2), random(-2, 2)); location.add(velocity); } } 47

48

critical reflection The explorations of the beta project illustrated the principles of re-mapping data through sensory means which would be crucial to the concept of a parametric Revit technician. Through using a dynamic computational model which generates emergent behaviour based on the starting conditions and actions designed by code, questions around the techniques of gathering data and its translation into new media were brought to the forefront. The first tests illustrated here could be developed further to provide higher fidelity, more sensitive data mapping with fewer constant values and increased emphasis placed on mapping which evolves with dynamism to match the fluctuating system it seeks to interpret.

With these questions in mind, I explored the themes which would be common for this mode of data translation, which is aimed toward an intuited sense of information. As a form of critical reflection I have attempted to illustrate the main concepts with a set of graphics and products influenced by the development and advertisement of technology in the 1950â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and 60â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. In my research in to the graphic design of this golden age in technological development, I found a sense of wonder and hope brought about by the huge steps made in human achievement and design. I thought this could be an appropriate metaphor for a dawning age of cyborgs and phenomological intuition which may be on the horizon, and its potential marriage to parametricism as an encapsulation of orthodox modernity.

A final reflection on the tests implemented here could be made on the potential for hacking and subversion. In the initial phase of the beta project the blending of feedback from the heart rate and galvanic skin response sensors led to an uncanny sensation. The short circuit effect possible in phenomological systems could offer a future line of enquiry which has not been fully developed in these tests.

The experience of coding techniques gained from the development of the experimental architecture module would impact the course of my thesis project, with its emphasis on the psychological effects of our tools for design, now with language itself considered as a prosthetic tool.

The thesis project would continue to build on the lessons learnt during the intensive period working within coding systems, now seeking an alternative system which would use language which is resistant to instrumental control. Some of the themes considered in the critical evaluation would be explored further in part two of the design project.

49

05. thesis project de-programming the revit technician

02. tools for thinking about architecture

03. s6 thesis project part 1

04. experimental architecture

05. s6 thesis project part 2

06. architecture & construction: process & management

50

part 2 seeing is forgetting the name of the thing one sees

51

similar

(to)

= robot

52

man

(&)

machine

toward an alternative interface for design seeing is forgettinglanguage as prosthetic tool to the designer

53

54

An enclosure to lay down and wait for tomorrow.

55

Take soundings: what for instance is the relationship between sounding as the act of probing of measuring depth, and sounding as the act of emitting sound?

According to the dictionary there is no relation, but according to ones intuition there is a space or a dimension in which they are involved with each other, the same dimension as that within which wandering and wondering, or sacred and secret, are involved with each other.

Vim van der Bergh in Introduction to John Hejdukâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Soundings

56

Language which is resistant to instrumental control is open to interpretation and ambiguous in translation.

An architectonic system of coding was sought which would provide an alternative interface for design.

semantography an alternative coding system for architectural production developed from blissymbolics David Willsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; opening question of Prosthesis shows us that the word â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;prosthesisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; rests on the unstable footing of a dual definition, which destabilises the certainty of language and leads to a poetic ambiguity in definitions.

In 1949, as a reaction to the extreme political rhetoric across Europe which modified the meaning of language, Charles K Bliss published Semantography, a manual to the graphical language he called Blissymbolics, which is based on meaning referenced symbols. Charles K Bliss intended that Blissymbolics would form an international language which cannot be swayed by politics.

I wondered if this system could inform alternative coding practices for architectural production. The semantographic system is meaning referenced and articulates concepts through graphical representation.

The system uses spatial configuration to articulate concepts with the following general rules in place: right/left = for/against up/down = give/receive The principle mechanism of generating symbols and designing the composition of a whole piece of text is ideographical representation, which articulates the idea of a thing rather than the name of it. This principle guides the calligraphic design of a piece - from the scale of a single symbol to the layout of the entire composition - to articulate the spatial instructions or emotive experience of the author.

The four types of symbol used are pictographs, arbitrary symbols, ideographs, and compound symbols. Indicators are also used to specify the intended meaning of symbols as thing, action, description, plural or tense.

57

alpha test a semantographic design for a dwelling The first test using semantographic techniques would be to describe a design for a dwelling through graphical, meaning referenced language based on Blissymbolics as a precedent.

The initial inspiration for the dwelling was the blissymbol for narrow, which informed development of designs in plan. Once the house was sufficiently developed through drawing, I translated the geometry into a semantographic code description.

In translating the plans into code the two thick walls at either side of the dwelling became iconic indicators, identified from the original plan form for the coded script. As this was the first time I used semantographic code, the means of expressing information evolve as the drawing progresses, and the coded articulation of the spaces, initially in the form of simple lines of symbols with regular sizes, becomes more architectural and calligraphic as passages of code and the drawing as a whole adopt the rules of individual symbols to articulate the message.

dwelling floor plans

58

2

1

3

4

5

7

8

6

plan development & iterative production of code

59

final composition 60

Wall at top material glass and steel.

Material glass many planes.

Receive support linear steel belonging to roof.

Roof above floor # 2 create material glass and steel.

Floor # 1

Opening at floor # 1 into enclosure at wall bottom.

Linear steel components belonging to roof attach to wall at right.

Wall at bottom between floor # 1 and floor # 2 create from liquidstone. Above floor # 2 material glass and steel.

Wall high thick create material liquid stone.

Wall high thick create material liquid stone.

Floor # 1 at ground create liquid stone gives support walls.

Linear steel components belonging to roof attach to wall at left.

From wall at left to wall at right.

Floor # 2 above floor # 1 create from material timber linear (thick underneath thin above similar to wall). Thin across thick.

At equidistant point between walls.

Equidistant point of roof.

The roof belongs to all outside walls.

(Diagram left and right walls) give support to roof.

Roof create from long linear steel components attach to short steel components.

Wide openings create from glass go into yard.

In front of open space to sit.

The stair created from 2 components.

Wall create from linear timber.

(Spatial diagram of stair orientation) Linear steel components give support to planar timber components (to support feet) between steel components.

Enclosure to lay down and wait for tomorrow.

Protection house of fabric.

Enclosure to wash.

Wall high thick create material liquid stone.

At wall left stair create from linear timber between floor # 1 and floor # 2.

Linear place to walk from opening to back.

Wall high thick create material liquid stone.

Fire different wall create from liquid stone.

Floor# 1 and floor # 2 with the aid of wall of liquid stone give support to linear steel components.

Stair create from multiple linear components attach (weld diagram).

steel

Opening create from linear steel into enclosure.

Floor # 2

Wide openings create from glass gives view of yard.

Open enclosure for create food and sitting in front.

Fire enclosure.

Stair from floor # 1 to here.

Open space for work.

Light.

Wall high thick create material liquid stone.

Wall high thick create material liquid stone.

Enclosure to sit and read.

translation 61

62

The third of the houses I know the least about.

It was built in 1971 but the house no longer exists. Till now, I have been unable to deduce an exact date when it was pulled down but having looked at past Google maps I suspect it was around 1993. Above all the strangest thing about this house is the fact that the owners suddenly abandoned the house. I have been in contact with someone who visited the house in 1992 and he told me that when he visited the house, there was still a car in the garage and much of the furniture was left.

63

page 1 at A1

page 2 at A1

beta test semantographic reconstruction of peter eisenman’s house 3 Following the alpha test, which was found to articulate the experience of space in poetic terms, I carried out a second test to explore the how Eisenman’s third house would be described by the coding system.

The design of the house, which was demolished in the 1990’s, was claimed by Eisenman to be purely the product of geometrical transformation. I wondered how a re-construction of the house in experiential terms of coding would alter the resulting architecture.

The ship of Theseus, also known as Theseus’s paradox, is a thought experiment that raises the question of whether an object that has had all of its components replaced remains fundamentally the same object. The paradox is most notably recorded

by Plutarch in Life of Theseus from the late first century. Plutarch asked whether a ship that had been restored by replacing every single wooden part remained the same ship.

spatial process diagram by Eisenman

64

1a

2a

1b

1c

2b

2c

process work 65

composition 1/2 @ a1 66

The third house project belonging to E receives instruction from two similar components.

Two components in plan view (diagram).

Component geometry created from extrusion at ground.

In plan view component # 2 receives instruction rotate against grid belonging to component # 1.

In axonometric view component # 1 similar to component # 2.

In plan view component # 2 (reduced dimensions) component # 1.

Create the house project requires multiple imaginary spaces created from different work times.

Work stage 1: In plan view component # 1 divide # 3 equal vertical spaces (diagram plan).

Repeat instruction but action rotated against first for horizontal spaces (diagram plan).

In section view component # 1 divide # 2 equal vertical spaces (diagram section).

Work stage 2: In plan view all vertical edges receive instruction from action # 1 to create multiple walls between component # 1 bottom and top.

Work stage 3: In plan view some walls defined by action # 2 trim at point indicated (diagram plan).

Under part belonging to trim wall transform (diagram plan).

Work stage 4: In axonometric view geometry give instruction from main part of geometry defined by action # 1. (Camera transformation) Geometry defined by part displayed (diagram axonometric).

Work stage 5: In plan view component # 2 aligns with component # 1 at top (diagram plan).

Action before: geometry belonging to component # 2 at action # 5.1 subtract geometry defined by action 4.

Action after: transform action # 5.1 reversed for geometry belonging to component # 2.

Work stage 6: In plan view geometry defined by action # 4 transform for align with top edge belonging to component # 2 (diagram plan).

Work stage 7: At all edges and intersections belonging to component # 1 create sweep geometry.

Sweep section defined by (diagram section). Sweep equidistant vertical and horizontal point receives instruction from edge and intersection belonging to component # 1.

At geometry defined by action # 3.2 create vertical sweeps at horizontal equidistant point.

Work stage 8: In plan view all geometry parts shown transform (diagram plan).

composition 1/2 translation 67

composition 2/2 @ a1 68

The house is in wide open site surrounded by many trees.

Imaginary spaces defined by component # 1 combined with component # 2 create actual spaces and geometries belonging to the house.

Floor # 1 at earth spaces receive instruction from spaces belonging to combination of component # 1 and component # 2.

Floor # 2 place at intersection caused by vertical division imaginary spaces for action # 1.3.

Floor # 2 spaces receive instruction from space defined by action # 6 combined with top of component # 2.

Stair to long narrow linear place to walk create from extrusion from the stair.

Geometry to give protection place at extreme top of combination of component # 1 and component # 2.

The geometry defined from imaginary space action # 6 at floor # 2 divided by four enclosures.

Geometry to give protection similar geometry belonging to floor # 2.

Three spaces for lay down to wait for tomorrow.

One space for wash.

Reading and working

The wide open space trim from the long narrow linear place to walk from stairs to enclosure at (diagram plan).

Space (at diagram plan) floor # 2 created from open enclosures for playing and washing.

At top of component # 2.

(above) The place to receive food at floor # 1.

Place from stair goes to to every enclosure long thin open space to be outside.

Enclosure at floor # 2 created from space defined by action 6 combined with top of component # 2.

Stair around point defined by intersection created by combination of component # 1 and component # 2 in plan view goes from floor # 1 to floor # 2.

Enclosure at earth created from bottom of component # 1.

Spaces defined by action # 6 give protection. (under)

Space # 1 from the heavy wall narrow low space to go through in bad weather.

Opening through heavy wall at point (diagram plan).

Space # 1 defined by intersection created by

combination of component # 1 and component # 2 in plan view.

Opposite of heavy wall contains glass opening to outside.

Space # 3 divided

Floor # 1 defined by three enclosures.

High for

enclosure protection creating food.

Place to receive food

Place to sit and view outside (diagram plan).

composition 2/2 translation 69

we went to a place outside the gaze of google maps

70

71

with the aid of prosthetic machines I received information from geometry belonging to the site

72

perspective machine drawing set 73

a half days walk from the small town

through the narrow space between many buildings

over the land created from many very small rocks

over the water

through the many trees

to the narrow part of land which extends into the sea

74

with the aid of prosthetic machines I received information for geometries belonging to the site

B: I’ve got a man with a wooden leg, or something similar...

H: Oh yeah, well I think that part is talking about, and I’ve got an advantage here because Alex told me about when he did this, so I think at this point they were taking measurements, using, you know those sort of... using a machine, so that’s a prosthetic machine... to receive knowledge, I think it was about taking measurements, and taking information about the site.

H: Specifically for the purpose.

B: Yes I can see it’s on the actual site, yes.

75

76

a semantographic site survey

we went out of the dark of the many trees to sit in the light open space for raising our spirits suddenly we were at the site

77

the start (before) graphical representation belonging to semantographic way to be at place

The site is a half days walk from Dunbar town.

We walked through the streets, around the cliffs, along the beach, crossed the river, through the trees, to the peninsular named St Baldredâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cradle.

We walked through the dark woods to the light open to raise our spirits. Suddenly we found ourselves at the site. Some of us sat at the edge of a path, some of us went to look for a place to sleep.

We saw the glowing light of Edinburgh from beyond the horizon and the lighthouse on Bass Rock. We sat on the rocks above the sea and looked across the bay. We slept in a space between the rocks.

A half days walk from the many buildings, we walked through and between many buildings, around the top edge of the land created from high rocks, over the land of water, to the narrow piece of land which extends into the land of water.

We walked out of the woods with no light to sit in the light open for positive feeling.

Suddenly we were at the actual place. Some of us sat at the edge of a place to walk, some of us walked to receive knowledge for a place to lay down and wait for tomorrow.

We saw the burning light of the ! many buildings from beyond the end of the earth, and the ! large rock which supports a house to give light.

We sat at the edge of rocks high above the water, looked over the water.

We waited for tomorrow in an enclosure created from many rocks.

I lay down to wait for tomorrow in the open and saw the many similar to suns.

Away from the ground of many rocks, action of the moon reveals water above many rocks.

With the aid of prosthetic machine I receive information for geometry belonging to the site.

In an enclosure of high rocks revealed by wind rain and sea is the place we lay down to wait for tomorrow. In rocks is protection created from liquid stone.

In the next morning we watched the sun rise over the sea.

In the start of the next day we saw the sun rise above the land of water.

In 1907 the territorial army saw the burning light of Seacliff estate from the peninsular.

In 1907 the people for action saw the burning light of a large house (Seacliff) from the narrow part of land.

In the ground belonging to many trees, spaces are low light. Rise steeply against changing vertical levels belonging to site.

The earth into an open place create from changing ground of rock trim from water against rock.

Up from the land of trees is high ground belonging to site. See revealed wide thin ground created from more rain for support of many small similar to tree. Ground of rock and land of water.

Two times every day action belonging to moon gives earth to land of sea.

Because rain, low support for large trees. We see (diagram curve) belonging to earth after the rocks.

translation 78

Away from the high protection part of site we see over the ground of very many tiny rocks to the many many buildings.

semantographic survey set 79

80

underneath the many similar to sun in the open between the rocks and the sea we lay down to wait for tomorrow

in the start of the next day we saw

the sun rise above the land belonging to water

81

semantographic brief for the experience of the site survey trip The site survey drawings were condensed to inform a brief which articulates the essence of the experiential account of the site, reliant on semantographic code without the aid of traditional drawings.

A half day walk to the narrow strip of land which extends into the sea.

Some of us walked to receive knowledge for a place to lie down and wait for tomorrow.

We went down into an enclosure formed by the rocks and the sea, a place for people and fire. into the open light to raise our spirits.

We walked up, out of the dark enclosing spaces formed by the woods,

Some of us sat at the edge of a place to walk, on rocks high above the water.

We looked across the water to the mainland and bass rock.

Suddenly we found ourselves at the site.

We saw the burning light from a large city

Below the many similar to suns.

behind the end of the earth.

We lay down in the open, between the rocks and the sea, to wait for tomorrow.

The others stood on the rocks above our enclosure.

In the start of the next day

The people for action saw the burning light of seacliff estate at the end of the mainland.

translation 82

we saw the sun rise above the land of water.

semantographic brief 83

site plans developed from semantographic brief The information contained within the brief was developed into an initial site plan, produced on the drawing table presented earlier in the project.

It was intended that this site plan would only represent the information contained within the brief, presented in a more abstract form which becomes isolated from the original experience.

first original

first transcription

84

detail of second original

second original

second transcription

85

site model developed from semantographic brief Following the production of initial draft site plans the brief was translated into a three dimension clay model which would articulate the experience of the site. This model would be paired with a second, based translation of the codes by third parties, which would be developed in the next project phase.

A half day walk to the narrow strip of land which extends into the sea.

into the open light to raise our spirits.

We walked up, out of the dark enclosing spaces formed by the woods,

Suddenly we found ourselves at the site.

1/4 86

Some of us walked to receive knowledge for a place to lie down and wait for tomorrow.

We went down into an enclosure formed by the rocks and the sea, a place for people and fire.

Some of us sat at the edge of a place to walk, on rocks high above the water.

We looked across the water to the mainland and bass rock.

2/4 87

We saw the burning light from a large city behind the end of the earth.

The others stood on the rocks above our enclosure.

The people for action saw the burning light of Seacliff estate at the end of the mainland.

3/4 88

Below the many similar to suns.

We lay down in the open, between the rocks and the sea, to wait for tomorrow.

In the start of the next day

we saw the sun rise above the land of water.

4/4 89

90

Under the land belonging to many tiny rocks action of the moon sees revealed water above rock

H: I’ve just got lots of words really, I’ve just got lots of rocks, water, rocks, but then there’s the reveal symbol as well, so I don’t know if its talking about the moon revealing, is it the tide?

Did they have to wait for the tide to go out maybe before they could do this work?

91

testing translation interpretation of the semantographic site survey

interpretation by H and B While I developed my own response to the site based on a condensed brief, I sent the original semantographic site survey drawings to my Sister and Grandad (H and B) for interpretation.

A short manual for reading semantography was developed to assist in teaching the principles and vocabulary of the coding system, with some worked examples from the first drawing of the series. Apart from this manual minimal information was given to H and B to avoid affecting their reading.

The complete transcript of their conversation shown opposite illustrates their interpretation of the survey drawings.

92

B: ...the pictures?

H: Yeah they are a lot more detailed I think.

B: Right, well I thought the first one was easy, (est), the easiest I should say. Are you recording?

H: I am yes (both laugh) B: Although...

H: is that because there’s a bit of help with it?

B: Well there’s a bit of help of course ... I saw the top, working from top to bottom, I saw ... a view over the sea, through many trees, so it was a partial view of the sea, as you approach from the west I suppose, I would assume. You had that too?

H: Very similar, something about the river starts here and you’re going through the forest toward the mouth of the river, where it meets the sea.

B: Ok, that’s more complicated than my version! Then in the middle, well we had that done for us on one of the guidance sheets, landscape is create by from off, very small rocks.

H: I missed a bit out I didn’t do that bit...

B: Then, still over the sea, I couldn’t quite work out what was happening.

H: Is that something about a town, or, I think that’s... is that a built up area?

B: Yes that’s a built up area isn’t it, but what that meant I don’t understand.

Did you do that bit?

H: No I forgot to do that bit.

B: Ok, well the other two bits at the bottom.

H: That was easy as well, because of the help on the sheet.

B: Its half, whatever it is, many... is it rocks?

H: I think its half a day’s walk from the small village or town.

B: the village or the town, or whatever it is.

H: Yes, half a day’s walk away, and I, at the bottom one, put through the streets between the buildings, so you walk through the town.

B: Yes I’ve got many houses on higher and lower ground, as you just said, it’s a descent isn’t it, or at least that’s how I see it, that’s how I saw it.

H: Shall we go to the left, the middle left, the darker one.

B: Yes, ok, well it seems to be one person..

H: Laying.

B: I don’t understand how much time is involved, does it mean the whole day, or part of the day... Are we sunbathing?

H: Yeah I think yeah, I think it means the day, in general... yeah when you said about sunbathing earlier, I thought that seemed quite accurate, laid in the sun, sunbathing.

B: And the bit below the enclosure, it’s something to do with seeing, and the next symbol is similar, and then we’ve got... I don’t know, is that the sun?

H: Mm, so the enclosure part made me wonder if he’s coming at it from thinking of using this site to build something, I wondered if he was thinking about it would be good place to have a sun room or a glass wall, although there’s no mention of glass as a material... Oh no there is actually, that would be, yeah, that would be that enclosure, does describe glass.

B: Right.

H: So I wonder if he’s sort of thinking this would be a good place to put a sun room, thinking ahead.

B: The bottom left, this is where I started to struggle.

B: It’s a lot shorter, well, a lot more complex, I thought!

H: Yeah I did too.

B: I’ve got a man with a wooden leg, or something similar...

H: Oh yeah, well I think that part is talking about, and I’ve got an advantage here because Alex told me about when he did this, so I think at this point they were taking measurements, using, you know those sort of... using a machine, so that’s a prosthetic machine... to receive knowledge, I think it was about taking measurements, and taking information about the site.

H: Specifically for the purpose.

B: Yes I can see it’s on the actual site, yes.

H: But then I don’t know about the part on the left, it seems to be sort of saying that there’s... I don’t know, because it looks like a moon but its coloured in.

B: Yes it looks like a crescent moon doesn’t it.

H: I’ve just got lots of words really, I’ve just got lots of rocks, water, rocks, but then there’s the reveal symbol as well, so I don’t know if its talking about the moon revealing, is it the tide? Did they have to wait for the tide to go out maybe before they could do this work? And then the same but slightly below, I wondered if it was talking about the sun, to do, to do some. I wondered if it was about revealing or waiting for the water in the river to clear to...

B: Something to do with time isn’t it, yes.

H: But then they’re saying about we lay in the sun, were they waiting in the sun while they waited for the river to clear? Something to come up from it, are they fishing maybe? They’re waiting for something to be revealed in the water, because then the smallest square to the right seems to be talking about creating something, a wet material.

B: There’s a roof there isn’t there?

B: And the material is ... it’s a combination of rock and water isn’t it, so I don’t know what that means exactly. Anyway, making a roof. Are they making a roof?

H: Maybe, maybe that was the night time.

B: From something...

H: I have been wondering how many, I think he only slept one night there, I wonder if that’s talking about preparing for...

H: And then the next one, the middle...

H: We went through the forest, I got this as...

B: Oh that’s a forest.

H: With no light.

B: It’s cloudy.

H: Ahh, wasn’t sure if it was dusk.

B: I suggested, ah yes well it might have been dusk of course, and something about feeling.

H: Yeah I wondered if they needed to sit and rest, recharge themselves.

B: Ok, the next line I haven’t got, because I don’t know what that second symbol means.

H: Present. Present time. That one?

B: Yes, the sort of curvy x.

H: Yes it’s the past and the present, so it’s present time. So present time.

B: It begins with an intensifier, doesn’t it, so that’s many times in the past and present is it? We..

H: I don’t know, I think its talking about them finding the actual site.

B: Yes. H: So that’s quite important, maybe they reached the actual site where they wanted to do the site survey.

B: (agrees) and then the...

H: So that’s saying some of us.

B: And below that, some.

H: Some of us..

B: Sat, and some of us walked.

H: Walked, explored some more maybe.

B: Yes, yes.

H: And then in the bottom corner..

B: In the bottom corner, some people walked, to discover knowledge, literally.

To find out what they could about the site, presumably.

H: Yep that’s what I thought too, and then, there’s somebody else having a lay down? Or is this just talking about timescale?

B: I didn’t understand that, erm, is it the side lay, no, and then it’s something to do with time and day, but I didn’t understand that.

H: Yeah I was a bit unsure as well.

B: Alright, so that the end of that bit isn’t it, there’s only the one? Ok, so if we look at this elongated picture, right, erm, well at the start of the day, we saw, (is it?) we saw the sun seems to dim as it rises later in the day.

H: I think that means it transforms, it’s a transformation so I wondered if it was the sun rising, so its..

B: Yes I just wondered if it gets dimmer, because it’s a dotted outline, but anyway what else did I get, well it’s the earth, the... We’ve got the earth and the sea have we?

H: We’ve got yeah, something about the water.

B: Is it over the earth and the water? Over the land and the water?

H: Yeah maybe that’s the sun still the sun being over the water...

H: I’m not sure. The middle one at the bottom.

They seem to be talking about lots of spaces and trees, and how, it seemed to me to be more about how the area is, what sort of flora and fauna are there maybe. It seems to be talking about lots of trees that grow there... but about creating something, maybe about growing more trees?

Something about a transformation, is it about growing somewhere?

B: yes there’s something about change isn’t there, on the side.

H: And then there was something about water or the river, I wondered if it was about how the river helps the trees grow? About how the trees grow taller when there’s water or something? ... and then at the very bottom that seemed to make me think that as well, when it rains more does that mean that there’s more support to grow larger and more trees. And the very bottom line seemed to me to be something about, there’s a graphical representation symbol that’s very tiny, I wondered if that’s saying we drew, so maybe this is when they sat and drew, made the drawings or...

B: Well, you’ve gone beyond me now as I can’t get that far!

H: So the third panel..

B: The big one, is it, no, not the big one, oh yes.

H: No, the one on the far right, to right.

B: Yes, we saw, I thought that said fiery sun, but..!

H: Yeah, at first I thought they were talking about seeing the town from a distance, and seeing it as a group, maybe it was darker and they were seeing the light from the town... and then I wondered if they were talking about taking shelter from the sun.

B: And there were many Seacliffs.

H: Erm, it was when I worked on the more condensed, straight forward panels that I wondered if that was talking about a lighthouse.

H: Because of the rocks and the bright light.

B: That would make sense.

H: Then... and then there’s something about large rocks, giving support, to the... yeah.

B: Yeah I didn’t understand what they were giving support to...

H: Hmm, yeah which is why I thought is it shelter from the sun?

B: Does it say, does it suggest that the Seacliffs reflected the sun? Or the sun was shining on the cliffs?

H: Mm, yeah it might be because it seems to be talking about a specific time of the day, so it might be talking about a specific area of the sky that this happens.

B: Mm, yes, yes. Well, that bit in the square, in the box, erm, I can’t really make anything of... Is it we spent, are we spending the whole day in that rocky place?

H: Mm, I think there’s something about creating as well, creating.. Mm... The bottom part of that same picture, I wondered if it was about we sitting, we’re sitting on some rocks, and is the river there, you can see the river...

B: Or, is it, yes you can see the water, the river or water, yes.

H: Mm ... and there’s the up symbol, I wondered if it was talking about the waterfall?

B: I thought it might refer to the cliffs, towering above them..

H: Yeah.

B: Or above the sea.

H: Yeah.

B: The other bit, I mean the big bit further on, I didn’t understand this.

H: Well I think this was the bit that I was wondering about a lighthouse, because of the fire and the sun bright description, but I don’t know, all of it together I’m not sure, and then there’s obviously the 1907.

B: Yes, yes, many Seacliffs I think it says. So something happened in 1907. I don’t understand what the chevrons pointing upwards mean.

H: They are an action, work or action.

B: Ah, built.

H: So built, yes. Did they see something that was built in 1907?

B: Yes, they must have.

H: Haha and the last part again, I wondered if that was talking about tides, because of the moon symbol. Something about going into a room, creating something from change, something about the river and the materials there, so I wonder if it’s about working with the materials that are already there, to create something, I don’t know. Maybe it’s about chopping the trees down or using, because there’s a symbol that means to trim. There’s something about all day... and something going on with the river and there’s the moon symbol so I wondered if that was about the tide again. And then at the bottom, I think its talking about the end, I thinks its saying after some time we went back through the small town, so maybe that’s the end of their...

93

similar to axonometric interpretation by H and B The conversation between H and B informed an interpretation of their reading of the site as a second site model sculpted in clay.

Drawing from dual elements articulated by my own site model and H and Bâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interpretation, a close reading of the information presented within the code and H and Bâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s discussion was used to produce the semantographic site model.

Three model segments draw from the distinct areas of discussion. I found that their interpretation was affected by the fact that I am studying architecture which led to some early conclusions, prior knowledge of the project, and the injection of English into the codes for place names such as Seacliff estate which became a distraction.

94

I modelled an alternative rendition of the site based on H and Bâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interpretation of the original site survey drawings.

The elements of this model could be read in tandem with elements represented by the earlier site model based on my own condensed brief.

95

B: Its half, whatever it is, many... is it rocks?

H: I think its half a day’s walk from the small village or town.

B: the village or the town, or whatever it is.

H: Yes, half a day’s walk away, and I, at the bottom one, put through the streets between the buildings, so you walk through the town.

B: Yes I’ve got many houses on higher and lower ground, as you just said, it’s a descent isn’t it, or at least that’s how I see it, that’s how I saw it.

B: ... landscape is create by from off, very small rocks.

B: I saw ... a view over the sea, through many trees, so it was a partial view of the sea, as you approach from the west I suppose, I would assume.

You had that too?

H: Very similar, something about the river starts here and you’re going through the forest toward the mouth of the river, where it meets the sea.

H: So the third panel..

B: The big one, is it, no, not the big one, oh yes.

H: No, the one on the far right, to right.

B: Yes, we saw, I thought that said fiery sun, but..!

H: Yeah, at first I thought they were talking about seeing the town from a distance, and seeing it as a group, maybe it was darker and they were seeing the light from the town... and then I wondered if they were talking about taking shelter from the sun.

B: And there were many Seacliffs.

H: Erm, it was when I worked on the more condensed, straight forward panels that I wondered if that was talking about a lighthouse.

H: Because of the rocks and the bright light.

B: That would make sense.

H: Then... and then there’s something about large rocks, giving support, to the... yeah.

B: Yeah I didn’t understand what they were giving support to...

96

H: ... Hmm, yeah which is why I thought is it shelter from the sun?

B: Does it say, does it suggest that the Seacliffs reflected the sun? Or the sun was shining on the cliffs?

H: Mm, yeah it might be because it seems to be talking about a specific time of the day, so it might be talking about a specific area of the sky that this happens.

B: Mm, yes, yes. Well, that bit in the square, in the box, erm, I can’t really make anything of... Is it we spent, are we spending the whole day in that rocky place?

H: Mm... The bottom part of that same picture, I wondered if it was about we sitting, we’re sitting on some rocks, and is the river there, you can see the river...

B: Or, is it, yes you can see the water, the river or water, yes.

H: Mm ... and there’s the up symbol, I wondered if it was talking about the waterfall?

B: I thought it might refer to the cliffs, towering above them..

B: ... right, erm, well at the start of the day, we saw, (is it?) we saw the sun seems to dim as it rises later in the day.

H: I think that means it transforms, it’s a transformation so I wondered if it was the sun rising, so its..

B: Yes I just wondered if it gets dimmer, because it’s a dotted outline, but anyway what else did I get, well it’s the earth, the...

We’ve got the earth and the sea have we?

H: We’ve got yeah, something about the water.

B: Is it over the earth and the water? Over the land and the water?

H: Yeah maybe that’s the sun still the sun being over the water...

97

H: But then I don’t know about the part on the left, it seems to be sort of saying that there’s... I don’t know, because it looks like a moon but its coloured in.

B: Yes it looks like a crescent moon doesn’t it.

H: I’ve just got lots of words really, I’ve just got lots of rocks, water, rocks, but then there’s the reveal symbol as well, so I don’t know if its talking about the moon revealing, is it the tide? Did they have to wait for the tide to go out maybe before they could do this work? And then the same but slightly below, I wondered if it was talking about the sun, to do, to do some. I wondered if it was about revealing or waiting for the water in the river to clear to...

B: Something to do with time isn’t it, yes.

B: I’ve got a man with a wooden leg, or something similar...

H: Oh yeah, well I think that part is talking about, and I’ve got an advantage here because Alex told me about when he did this, so I think at this point they were taking measurements, using, you know those sort of... using a machine, so that’s a prosthetic machine... to receive knowledge, I think it was about taking measurements, and taking information about the site.

H: Specifically for the purpose.

B: Yes I can see it’s on the actual site, yes.

98

H: And then there was something about water or the river, I wondered if it was about how the river helps the trees grow? About how the trees grow taller when there’s water or something? ... and then at the very bottom that seemed to make me think that as well, when it rains more does that mean that there’s more support to grow larger and more trees.

H: ... And the very bottom line seemed to me to be something about, there’s a graphical representation symbol that’s very tiny, I wondered if that’s saying we drew, so maybe this is when they sat and drew, made the drawings or...

H: ... and the last part again, I wondered if that was talking about tides, because of the moon symbol.

Something about going into a room, creating something from change, something about the river and the materials there, so I wonder if it’s about working with the materials that are already there, to create something, I don’t know. Maybe it’s about chopping the trees down or using, because there’s a symbol that means to trim.

There’s something about all day... and something going on with the river and there’s the moon symbol so I wondered if that was about the tide again. And then at the bottom, I think its talking about the end, I thinks its saying after some time we went back through the small town, so maybe that’s the end of their...

99

An enclosure for receiving and giving information for creating.

100

101

introduction to construction schedule 102

103

excerpts from construction schedule

104

105

106

The process of constructing the studio from the original semantographic schedule was documented and illustrated in a series of realisation plates, shown overleaf.

107

108

The start (before) graphical representations of my interpretation from site measure at place outside the gaze of google maps. above Similar to axonometric interpretation of H and B from the start (before) graphical representations.

A place to receive information from outside. above A place to give geometry to wet material from below ground.

Light machine to give information from others outside

Machine sits on open part belonging to wall to give light from outside.

in front of

A place to create graphical representations.

House of past prosthetic machines.

Linear place to walk.

House of past graphical representations. above Machine to create graphical representation language.

Overview. // General to view.

109

The walls constructed from high planar timber components.

Attach in plan view (diagram).

Three walls go to points in plan view (diagram) belonging to system under.

Two walls more high human.

House prosthetic machines.

For others to view.

And receive support from system under.

The desk for screating graphical representations. is on Component in the past supoorted intensifier many equal things.

The place for past prosthetic machines is created from two walls around desk for creating graphical representations.

110

A light machine to give information from others outside

A place to receive information from others outside

Things similar to axonometric created from site measure and to be at place

Graphical represenatations belonging to the site measure and to be at place

A place for creating graphical representations

A place to give geometry to wet material from below ground

111

semantographic instructions from H re-interpretation of site I sent footage of the two site models to H and B for viewing. In response to this iteration of the code, H returned a series of semantographic readings / instructions, to be interpreted in the studio.

first series

second series 112

In the present I work from H knowledge belonging to interpretation similar to axonometric things created from wet material from below ground receive geometry from me.

113

the present design task of the de-programmed revit technician In the present the de-programmed Revit technician interprets instructions from H.

the many buildings receive support from high walls

many rocks above houses

we lay in the sun for part of the day before going into the many trees above high to low

in the open water many components receive support from light things

protection above the enclosure is aligned

water above small building

the moon causes revealed water

through the many trees

the open site is a walk above high enclosure

the high building sees earth

translation of second series from H 114

initial drawing

three dimensional interpretation 115

the present prosthetic tools of the de-programmed revit technician

a place to create graphical representations

116

a place to give geometry to wet material from below ground

117

end note charting the change in prosthetic tools

118

119

06. architecture & construction: process & management professional practice essay on thesis project introduction The professional practice module consisted of two submissions: a gantt chart project management exercise completed early in the year which predicted timescales for each elements of work related to the project, with an accompanying risk assessment. The second submission took the form of an essay which anticipated risks which would be present in the implementation of my thesis project if it were to be constructed on site.

This essay sought to address the questions of agency and responsibility in using alternative coding practices in the construction industry.

03. s6 thesis project part 1

04. experimental architecture

The focal point of this essay will be the effect this coding technique has on deconstructing the role of the architect within existing frameworks of practice.

05. s6 thesis project part 2

a dwelling at st baldred’s cradle The proposal will be for a dwelling of very small scale at St Baldred’s Cradle, an isolated peninsular north of Dunbar. A site survey has been carried out which included an overnight stay prior to recording measurements using a plane table and alidade, presented in combination with a semantographic account which articulates the experience of the site. The survey, brief, and design will continue to be developed through semantographic coding systems in order to explore the implications of these techniques on the architect’s practice.

06. architecture & construction: process & management

professional practice issues The use of language which is not subject to instrumental control drastically alters existing modes of production in which the design and construction of buildings is rigorously specified and controlled. This alternative mode of practice would require substantial shifts from BIM techniques, and may find precedent in previous modes of practice where onsite improvisation by the builder takes precedence over the architect’s instructions. While implementing semantographic coding techniques for design and construction, the architects role primarily becomes mediator between parties involved in the project. This mode of practice would suit a self builder on a site which is not subject to statutory law and regulation, however this essay supposes that the project is carried out by a client, architect and builder as separate entities working to develop a design using semantographic language as an arts practice. The essay will consider how this mode of practice could be accomplished within existing statutory and legal frameworks, and how risks inherent in this approach may be contained and controlled.

At stage 03 the architect would set out the programme for an alternative mode of practice using semantographic code and assemble an appropriate project team with a view to the unorthodox means of production. The architect would proceed to develop a brief based on site analysis and the client’s requirements. It is imagined that the architect would articulate the brief using semantographic language, which would then be interpreted for construction by the builder. During early project stages a legal consultant would assist development of contracts for bespoke forms of appointment which reflect the unusual distribution of responsibility and scope of works between parties.

At the outset of the project the architect would advise the team of the risks inherent in the translation of ambiguous poetic instructions by the builder for construction. In order for this approach to be successful a close relationship would be formed between the three main parties of client, architect and builder, and the improvised nature of construction would require constant monitoring of budget and timescale on the part of the client, who would act as project manager.

Owing to the small scale, yet complex and bespoke nature of the project, the architect would fulfil numerous roles in its implementation following brief and design. The architect would initially act as lead designer and project lead, however following semantographic articulation of the brief/design, their instructions are handed to the main contractor who will interpret the drawings and code. At this point a shift occurs as agency is transferred to the main contractor, who takes on the role of the lead designer during improvised construction. Following transfer of responsibility for design, the architect would continue to act as project manager to mediate between different parties involved in construction (principally the client and builder). A bespoke design and build contract is suitable for the shift in design responsibility from the architect to the main contractor, however the contract would require the ability to adapt the budget and scope of works as construction progresses in piecemeal stages.

120

Following transferral of design responsibility from the architect to the main contractor for construction, the architect would remain responsible for other aspects of their traditional role, including appointment of specialist consultants for planning approval, flood risk assessment, ecological and archaeological surveys. As the main contractor takes on the lead designer role during construction, they would take responsibility for the appointment of additional consultants where required for structural engineering, building regulation approval and quantity surveying in addition to any sub contractor requirements.

In this mode of practice the client takes on a high element of risk owing to the interpretation of instructions by the main contractor. It is expected that the client would be on site during much of the construction process and be directly involved in interpretation of architects instructions by the builder. Through regular communication with the builder the client would take responsibility for specification choices to achieve a balance between bespoke construction which is true to brief and financial considerations.

Difficulty in predicting the improvised nature of construction could lead to delays in material supply. The main contractor would build using a method in which they are experienced and use locally sourced materials which require a minimum of specialist equipment. Vehicular access is located close to the site, however the terrain would cause difficulty in manoeuvring heavy machinery. The brief and conditions favour on-site construction using materials which are adaptable, afford sufficient margins for error and are manageable by a small team. Adverse weather conditions are likely and could affect construction, which would be acknowledged in the project plan.

The improvised nature of construction would create difficulty in gaining statutory approvals for the project, this will be addressed in the following section. It is expected that the main contractor would take on the role of principal designer and principal contractor with support from a specialist CDM coordinator. As project manager the client would also take an active role in fulfilling their duties for CDM. The architect would retain a background role and give full scope to the main contractor for the interpretation of semantographic instructions.

contract administration In this mode of practice the architect is effectively appointed to carry out a concept design which is then interpreted by the main contractor and constructed in piecemeal fashion, with instruction to proceed at each stage based on regular communication with the client on site.

In order to accommodate the unique mode of a practice, a bespoke design and build contract based on the standard JCT edition would be utilised in order to transfer responsibility for design from the architect to the main contractor prior to construction at stages 3/4. The use of bespoke forms of appointment can lead to increased risks for all parties, so it is vital that the documentation is based on a standard (such as the RIBA standard agreement 2010) and thoroughly reviewed by appropriate legal and insurance consultants.

Specific contract details relevant to each stage of work would be agreed by all parties as the detailed specification becomes known. A project plan agreed by the three main parties of client, architect and main contractor would inform contract clauses for the extension of time and modification of budget owing to the improvised nature of construction. Guidance is offered in the architectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s legal handbook for negotiation of the nuances of clauses in the latest edition of the JCT Design and Build contract.

A bespoke design and build construction contract would offer provision for sectional completion of the works as they progress. As each element of the project is completed to satisfaction, the relevant payment can be made to the contractor on issue of completion certificate for that stage. A contract appropriate to the fluid nature of construction would be necessary to allow the specification to be agreed and declared during each project phase.

Following handover of design to the main contractor for implementation, the architect may be novated by the main contractor to facilitate further drawing work and for negotiation of statutory approvals. Following this shift in architects role the client may seek to appoint an independent advisor for works inspection, or carry out this task in-house. Other requirements such as quantity surveying could be carried out by the main contractor for a project of this scale, however the client may wish to employ a specialist agent for verification. In order to reduce risk to the client it would be ideal to specify and cost the building to a technical level prior to construction and agree a fixed price, however as the improvised nature of construction leaves some unknown variables at the outset, the importance of an independent contract administrator could become increasingly necessary to achieve value for the client in later modifications to the design and project plan.

negotiation of statutory approvals The primary statutory approvals relevant to the project and site are planning permission and compliance with building regulations. The construction would call for an application for full planning permission. While the site is not located in a conservation area or site of special scientific interest, its isolation and natural beauty could lead to a contentious application for planning permission. Further, in constructing an improvised building which is not designed in its entirety prior to building, the negotiation of planning and building regulation approvals become difficult as these processes are usually structured around the traditional practice of commercial construction in the UK which is based on a definitive set of drawings. In the case of applying for planning permission and building regulation approval, it is vital to appoint relevant consultants for advice and to engage with local authorities early in the process in order to reduce risk.

Some routes for planning permission application provide concessions from the standard route based on agricultural use of land or specialist crafts appropriate to the site. A specialist planning consultant could advise on the most promising routes to gain planning permission, however it is likely this would remain a high risk aspect of the project.

Whilst the project brief calls for a construction which is improvised and designed instinctively on site, a concession could be made for the traditional requirements of the planning authority.

Following articulation of semantographic instructions by the architect, the main contractor could describe their response and the proposed structure using a set of traditional drawings for use in an application for planning permission.

The site is not a site of special scientific interest but it would be expected that the ecological report would return high levels of biodiversity. The proposed structure would be of low impact in order to minimise its physical and aesthetic effect on the woodland. The local development plan for the area indicates the site is greenbelt, therefore a strong case would be required for a successful planning application. It would not be expected to require the removal of trees for construction, however the planning authorities may require an Arboricultural Impact Assessment and assurances that no negative impact will result from the proposal.

In order to apply for building regulation approval, in lieu of plans a building notice could be served to the local authority. This strategy carries a higher risk than a traditional application which affords the protection of full plans, and in this case it would be important that the main contractor is trusted with the ability to carry out the required works, and ideally would have an existing working relationship with the building control body. In this project the main contractor would take responsibility to comply with building regulations (and CDM) for design and construction.

121

122

01. introduction

02. tools for thinking about architecture

03. s6 thesis project part 1

04. experimental architecture

05. s6 thesis project part 2

06. architecture & construction: process & management

07. s5 detail project van nelle techne fabriek

08. s5 masterplan project in media res

09. research through design proposal

10. mapping the arb criteria 11. critical reflection

123

124

07. s5 detail project van nelle techne fabriek spectres of utopia and modernism This project seeks to embrace or excorcise the ghosts of modernism through an investigation in to its indwelling traces present in a building selected from surviving examples of modern architecture across Rotterdam.

The Van Nelle factory was selected from a set of eight examples dating from the heroic period of modern architecture from the 1920s and 1930s, to the apex point during modernist architectureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s period of greatest orthodoxy during the immediate post-World War II period from 1945-1960.

The existing building will act as a catalyst for a new structure associated with it. An intervention will be developed in the form of a parasitic alien, inhabiting and suffusing the original. In this mode of design the host building will become one with the intervention which invades and eventually subsumes it.

The study building will be examined to challenge whether it harbours not only the ghosts of modernity and modernist architecture but also hosts the spectre of Utopia that has struck fear into the hearts of architects (and others) since at least the 1950s. The project will track the ghosts of modernism and the spectres of utopia through close readings of the details and material assemblies of heroic modernist and orthodox modernist works. Ultimately, the aim is to resuscitate modernism, modernity and utopia alike. Utopia will be examined not as a totalising blueprint, but rather as a method, in particular engaged in cultivating desires for better ways living.

125

the ghosts of modernism & the spectre of utopia introductory note As we chart the course of modernism from its early, heroic stages in the 1930’s to 1940’s, to its orthodox period post WWII, the mode of design became increasingly associated with Utopia in the perceptions of the public and critics.

However, this label appears to have been applied in hindsight and was not so much a catalyst for early designers as economic forces and an embrace of new technology were.

While Le Corbusier considered himself to be situated at a fork in the road in the 1920’s, with paths leading to either new architecture or revolution, he generated a utopic vision through the presentation of individually detailed buildings situated within a planned whole - a new order. Le Corbusier’s vision embraced the modern, including the motor car and mechanical building services, while simultaneously reacting to the industrial revolution and the high density of urban fabric through proposing garden cities. The past was eschewed for modernity in which everything is in constant renewal, as the futurists proposed ‘our houses will last for less time than us’, with faith in technology as a driver of progress toward a better future.

The designers who followed in Le Corbusier’s footsteps sought to emulate his ideas, but did so in isolated incidences. While Le Corbusier’s realised buildings were situated within a theoretical whole, most examples by his predecessors were not. As designers placed faith in technology and efficiency of building fabric, they neglected social context and the history of place. In some instances, as designers neglected to consider the social dimension they operate within, building forms became uncompromisingly totalitarian and could only work if the inhabitants were themselves designed as model citizens.

Counter movements have occurred since the orthodox period of modernity, with roots in pataphysics, surrealism and dada, the flux art movement and flaneur street wanderers embraced otherness and the plethora of unique characters who make up society. Contemporary architects utilise utopian and dystopian studies as discourse to catalyse open, flexible spaces which may be altered by their inhabitants and recognise the variety of users. The divisions imposed by capitalism on labour, production, city zones e.t.c. may be reconsidered as we accept the other, sometimes darker side of people and design accordingly.

In detailing specification, contracts and design responsibility, shifts have occurred as a result of capitalism and efficiency. As architects embrace the individual and seek to design buildings, and cities, which are not alienating, we may need to imagine an alternative future in which design is not defined by separation of work, as a function of the capitalist economic system.

Being modern means being up to date, but being a Modernist is an affirmation of faith in the tradition of the new, which emerged as the creative credo of progressive artists in the twentieth century.

the tell the tale detail Marco Frascari writes of the ‘Tell-the-Tale-Detail’. Thinking of Carlo Scarpa’s work, he argues that a detail should embody the whole. It should have narrative content. It should tell a story – about how architecture is, about how the world is (or should be).

Similarly, it might be said that every detail – however, precious, understated or seemingly ill considered – has a tale to tell. Looking closely at the details of buildings can tell us a lot about the values, attitudes, and priorities of the culture in which they were produced. Imagining and creatively appropriating the details of [g]host or destroyed buildings is a way critically to understand and work in dialogue with them.

An initial study of the building analysed the structural strategy, sequence of construction, mushroom column and curtain walling. It was found that the steel reinforced concrete frame, comprised of mushroom columns and cast in place floor plates enabled a glazed free façade, which offered substantial improvements on the environment of the previous factory building in the centre of Rotterdam.

A fifth detail. illustrated overleaf, is that of the corruption of the grid.

126

sequence of construction

exploded axonometric

steel reinforced concrete

curtain wall at stair core

tell the tale detail series 127

corruption of grid In 1929, as the Van Nelle factory was under construction, the great depression led to a change of design. The dispatch building, which was initially projected to reach the same height as the main factory, was downscaled as a consequence of the reduction in turnover. This led to the installation of transportation bridges from the third to the third and fifth floors, and the second to the first floor of the production zones. The bridges were intended to be a temporary measure to be removed once the economy improved and the dispatch building was vertically extended to full height, however these plans did not come to fruition and the diagonal bridges remained; quickly becoming a signature architectural feature of the factory and used in marketing and branding material. The scientific management of the factory can be observed as economic forces and product demand shape the volumes of each manufacturing segment of the factory, tobacco production the largest wing, followed by coffee and tea. The diagonal transport bridges create a rupture in the regular orthagonal grid, and can be read as a subversion of the rational building caused by a changing economic situation.

utopia and a shifting of the gaze Utopia as a method is defined by Lefebvre as a striving for something other through the projection of something which is possible to achieve the impossible. In geometrical terms this can be translated as a shifting of the gaze beyond the image screen as illustrated by Jacques Lacan’s Diagram of the Gaze.

Marcel Duchamp spent much of his art career exploring the rules of monocular and binocular perspective. Monocular perspective can be characterised as an empirical reduction of human vision based on an rational scientific point of view, whilst binocular vision holds potential for ambiguity, as celebrated during the baroque period through studies in anamorphism.

Architectural practice revolves around the perspective hinge, and the reduction of observed phenomena through a singular point of perspective or through orthographic means is a point of translation from imagination to drawing to construction which holds potential for subversion.

monocular perspective

In Mass Identity Architect Baudrillard speculates whether a Duchamp has existed for architecture. This question could be addressed using Jean Nouvel’s notion of suprasensible architecture, which can be explored in order to shift architecture beyond the object and read its deeper context. This notion led to the second phase of the project in which a paranoid critical reading of the history of the Van Nelle was carried out in order to inform an architectural response.

lacan’s diagram of the gaze

128

The Subject of Representation

The Image Screen

The Gaze

monocular / binocular vision

corruption of grid 129

a paranoid critical reading the story of the van nelle factory is that of theosophy and the bauhaus

theosophical roots

suprasensible architecture

The owner and architect of the Van Nelle factory, Kees van der Leeuw and Johannes Brinkman,

I’m most interested in buildings like Beaubourg, the World Trade Centre, Biosphere 2-singular

were heavily invested in theosophy and prominent members of The Order of the Rising Sun.

objects, but objects that aren’t exactly architectural wonders as far as I’m concerned. It’s not the

Theosophical belief is that ‘wisdom cannot be enclosed within words, it is a Truth which must

architectural sense of these buildings that captivates me but the world they translate. If I examine

be discovered and experienced by each one for themselves. Theosophy, sometimes known as

the truth of the twin towers of the World Trade Centre, for example, I see that, in that location,

the Ageless Wisdom, is the Light which shines through the many coloured lamps of religion. It is

architecture expresses, signifies, translates a kind of full, constructed form, the context of a society

the thread of truth in scriptures, creeds, symbols, myths and rituals. Divine Wisdom is One, the

already experiencing hyperrealism. Those two towers resemble two perforated bands. Today we’d

paths towards it are many.’

probably say they’re clones of each other, that they’ve already been cloned. Did they anticipate our present? Does that mean that architecture is not part of reality but part of the fiction of a

Van de Leeuw and Brinkman placed their faith in scientific rationality in the design for a vertical,

society, an anticipatory illusion? Or does architecture simply translate what is already there? That’s

daylit factory situated in green fields. A better future was envisioned for the workers who would

why I asked, “Is there such a thing as architectural truth?” in the sense that there would be a

be relieved of cramped, poorly lit conditions in the old factory situated in the centre of Rotterdam.

suprasensible destination for architecture and for space.

faith in the machine During the design and the construction of the Van Nellefabriek, the complex developed into the

Jean Nouvel in conversation with Baudrillard

forensic examination

zenith of ‘Het Nieuwe Bouwen’, which was the Dutch contribution to the International Modern Movement.

The supporting documentation for the application for Unesco heritage status asserts that:

From the very beginning, the transparent Van Nellefabriek, with its striking contours and ample

The splendid Van Nellefabriek is the collective result of the creative interaction between the

green space, was considered an iconic ‘landmark’ with an inspiring pioneer’s character ushering

aspiring minds of a humanist-inspired patron, architects, engineers, and designers to create an

in the Machine Age, the industrialised society of the twentieth century before the First World War.

aesthetically and technically advanced industrial ensemble. The collective genius aspired a better

Construction of the factory, which was designed in 1914, did not commence until the 1920’s. The

type of factory, reflecting social, economic, constructive and architectural progress and dynamic

industrial slaughter of the first world war (during which the Netherlands remained neutral) did not

architecture.

affect the faith placed in a new machine age to provide a better future.

We have to do here with matters far deeper than style, matters of which style is only an outward manifestation.

the dark side of the bauhaus

William Curtis 1985

petrification of spangen quarter

The Van Nelle was constructed in the early days of modernism, as the Weimar Bauhaus was established by Walter Gropius, and surely influenced its teachers. In the Dark Side of the Bauhaus,

The area surrounding the Van Nellefabriek was scanned with a 3d laser scanner from a plane,

Joseph Rykwert explores the early days of the school as it emerged from fields of art including

whereby locations and heights (x, y and z coordinates) in a density of 30 points per m2 were

Der Blaue Reiter - a group of artists united in rejection of the Neue Künstlervereinigung München

registered as a point cloud. With the aid of a mathematical programme, a map was generated

in Munich, Germany.

which indicates where a specified point can be seen from the surroundings. On the map, the tearoom of the Van Nellefabriek was taken as the focal point. This map determines the spaces

het nieuwe bouwen

where the tearoom is visible from its surroundings at ground level, from a sight level of 1.65 meters.

In new zoning plans, legally binding rules will be included that will prevent the realisation of undesirable building initiatives in respect of the nominated World Heritage site. Within the area

Kees van der Leeuw invitied many prominent architects to view the completed Van Nelle factory,

of the buffer zone, the current situation will be conservationally allocated. In practical terms this

including Gropius, Corbusier and Neutra. Le Corbusier was heavily influenced by the rational

means that the existing situation is ‘frozen’: building activities are only permitted when intended

architecture and praised the factory, writing after a visit:

to replace existing buildings, with the current allocation, maximum size and maximum building height, or when a building permit has already been granted. This is a strict regime, offering

The sheer façades of the building, bright glass and grey metal, rise up ... against the sky ...

optimal protection within the legal possibilities of the zoning plan.

The serenity of the place is total. Everything is open to the outside. And this is of enormous significance to all those who are working, on all eight floors inside ... The Van Nelle tobacco factory in Rotterdam, a creation of the modern age, has removed all the former connotations of despair from that word ‘proletarian’. And this deflection of the egoistic property instinct towards a feeling for collective action leads to a most happy result: the phenomenon of personal participation in

ghost of projection vs realisation

every stage of the human enterprise.

The ghost of the initial projected scheme is visible as a rupture of the grid in the form of diagonal

ville radieuse Le Corbusier, reacting to the evocative transparency of the Van Nelle factory, sensed a social vision of emancipation, stating: In Rotterdam you have a sparkling proof of the life to come, so clean and of an absolute purity.

transport bridges, analysed as a tell the tale detail. The rupture in underlying structure offers a point at which to subvert the building and manipulate reality.

duchamp inserted as virus Upon completion of the Van Nellefabriek Kees van der Leeuw was photographed triumphantly standing on the highest point of the factory - the terrace above the Tea Room. The identity of

Le Corbusier noted in the influential Dutch architectural journal De 8 en Opbouw 1936 (pp.

the figure dressed in a white suit using the window cleaning equipment is unknown, but we may

123): Van der Vlugt’s art showed exceptional purity and a rich and varied imagination. He has

speculate that it was Marcel Duchamp, a traveller in exile. Duchamp, a ghost of modernism is

succeeded in turning these places full of light and well-being and I have noticed during my visits

introduced to the building as a virus which undoes the grid, structure and programme in order

to all parts of the factory that the employees had an attitude one doesn’t find anywhere else.

to shift the gaze.

They were surrounded by the blessings of a human, warm-hearted and affectionate architecture.

In his work Van der Vlugt has found the perfect form for the architect’s mission, which is to bring happiness to people and he has chosen a factory to do so… The diagonal overhead bridges and the round Tearoom atop the tobacco factory, which were added during the building process, are particularly illustrative of the open nature of the Van Nellefabriek as a dynamic ‘factory for the

shifting of the gaze

future’. The inspired patronage and superb assemblage is based on humanist inspired ideas to advance an open civil society and on specific research into international models by the principal

A paranoid critical reading which blends truth with falsehood is articulated through peepholes

and the architects and engineers to create an open and humane place of production.

which offer an alternative mode of perspective and a place for reflection on the past.

division of production

unravelling façade

Despite the praise of Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius, the factory represents a split from the

The glazing of the free façade shudders.

early mantra of the Bauhaus and wider modernism, as the scientific management of the factory promoted division of production, labour, work and play. While the theosophical beliefs of the owner and architect promoted a mix of sport and leisure activities on site, the working of the factory is at odds with the early Bauhaus spirit which promoted craftsmanship and the techne through lived art, which ties with the theosophical belief in wisdom through experience.

rotterdam blitz and the basic plan In the 1940’s Kees van der Leeuw remained an influential figure among the city council, and following the Rotterdam Blitz in 1940 the Witteveen and Basic Plans were developed at the management offices of the Van Nelle. It is conceivable that van der Leeuw hosted the architects of the new city plan in the tea room overlooking the void at the centre of Rotterdam, and projected the ideals of the Van Nelle factory on to a new city.

130

Madame Helena Blavatsky

Colonel Henry Steel Olcott

Jiddu Krishnamurti

Kees van der Leeuw at the opening of the Star Camp at Ommen with Krishnamurti and Annie Besant, 1926.

Kees van der Leeuw

Johannes Andreas Brinkman

Van Der Vlugt

131

Duchamp is inserted as virus

and a shudder ripples across the faรงade.

132

133

134

a paranoid critical future for the van nellefabriek This project imagines a possible / impossible scenario derived from the paranoid critical history of the Van Nelle factory and modernism. A future is imagined in which the US president withdraws funding from the UN, eventually resulting in the dissolution of UNESCO. As void floor space continues to proliferate in the centre of Rotterdam, the Van Nelle is abandoned as businesses move into newly constructed clones of De Rotterdam. The Van Nelle factory is no longer listed as a heritage asset and is available for purchase. A new world teacher has emerged and taken lead of the theosophical society, and sets out to acquire the Van Nellefabriek and re-align it with the early theosophical ambitions of Kees van der Leeuw and Johannes Brinkman, which failed to come to fruition as the intention was subverted by scientific management and capitalism.

The neo theosophical society sets out to construct a monastery derived from the fabric of the Van Nelle. The society seeks to re-align the building with the spirituality and occult present in the early days of modernism through a literary deconstruction of the building, using Duchamp as a virus in order to shift the gaze. The virus spreads from the initial rupture of the grid and transcends mediums to redefine grid, form, materiality and programme. The monastery seeks to correct the divisions on labour, production and consumption imposed by capitalism and return to Johannes Ittenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s conviction that the whole personality must be involved in the work. The monastery will promote kinaesthetic learning in order to promote synaesthesia - a neo theosophical mode of transcendence. The construction will involve the mind, the body, the senses, memory and unconscious urges and will catalyse transcendence for the monks and visitors, becoming a factory for the techne: the Van Nelle Techne Fabriek.

135

programme Realigned Grid Anamorphic Rotterdam Join the Lights The Tea Room

Main Stage Green Room

Binocular Temple

Library Library

Fabric Cast Aperture

Join the Lights

Studios (Residential) Studios (Public)

Accommodation

Workshop

Accommodation

Refectory

Common Room

Realigned Grid Anamorphic Rotterdam

Lone Walkway

Binocular Temple

Library Library

Synaesthetic Discoteque Wing 1

Accommodation

Workshop

Accommodation

Refectory

Common Room

Production of Art Wing 2

key sections 136

Studios (Residential) Studios (Public)

Accommodation Wing 3

selected plans 137

anamorphic rotterdam The point at which a shift in the gaze occurs.

138

139

schedule of works

The following pages illustrate the detailed realisation of the proposal.

Main Stage Fabric Cast Aperture Join the Lights Realigned Grid Anamorphic Rotterdam The Tea Room

140

Trancendence

anamorphic rotterdam

the tea room

fabric cast aperture

main stage

realigned grid

join the lights

trancendence 141

structural strategy

Steel Insertion (primary structure)

Primed Floor Plates

Free Faรงade

structural overview axonometric 142

steel reinforcement concrete steel plate weld connection to existing

steel to column in plan

concrete steel plate weld connection to existing steel reinforcement

steel to column in section

steel hangar to column

typical connection to column type a axonometric

beam stub to column axonometric

beam attachments axonometric

steel hangar to slab

steel hangar to slab

typical connection to column type b axonometric

typical details 143

144

lighting strategy

acoustic strategy

In addition to element specific strategies through the Synaesthetic Discoteque, a number of access routes around the labyrinth are provided for ingress of DJ’s with lighting equipment. In addition to use of the existing floors, DJ’s are able to use the window cleaning equipment for access to the outside of the building with lighting equipment, specifically in the case of the fabric cast aperture. The series of trusses at the seventh floor provide internal lighting, with additional trusses at eighth floor level with suspended tracks for running of lighting systems above the roof lights. The double skin facade can be misted in order to isolate the club space from the external environment. At ground level lighting points are position atop the threshold pods and deconstructed columns. It is envisioned that synaesthetic DJ’s will interpret music as coloured light and reinterpret the microscopic material samples collected in the forensic study.

Each element of the labyrinth is tuned for specific acoustics determined by material treatments. The overall strategy within the Synaesthetic Discoteque includes sound dampening fabric controlled by pulleys in order to tune the space to specific events.

accessibility strategy The labyrinthine series of spaces leading vertically from the Synaesthetic Discoteque is inclined at an angle of 1:20 and so is suitable for wheelchair access, and does not require handrails.

Additional lift access is provided at the circulation cores.

environmental strategy Excavated Concrete: Excavated concrete used as aggregate and mould formers.

Double Skin Facade: Double skin facade to provide improved thermal performance and control over ventilation strategy.

145

main stage detail study The main stage comprises of a performance area backed by a curtain wall which is used for projection of light. Immediately in front of the stage are situated threshold pods with light mounts to the top. A steel staircase supported in tension transgresses the image screen and leads to an amorphic aperture behind, which focusses sound into the green room in which performers await their start.

axonometric 146

fabric cast aperture detail study The fabric cast aperture is situated at the north east facade and demonstrates fluid nature of concrete as a formless material. The structure spreads load to a pair of pile foundations with minimal attachment to the existing columns using steel plates.

Join the Lights (Route Above)

Timber Capping

Fabric Cast Concrete

Steel Mesh Primary Structure

DJ Access

axonometric 147

anamorphic rotterdam detail study The Anamorphic Rotterdam installation encapsulates the viral deconstruction of the existing Van Nelle fabric, which consists of concrete reinforced steel, cast in timber moulds and finished with plaster.

Telescopic lenses

Ogee formed plaster cast in fabric mould

Anamorphic model of Rotterdam A domed cast in-situ concrete structure is cast into a timber mould, shaped to rest on exisitng columns. A ogee curve formed plaster cast ties in to the steel concrete reinforcement and hosts an anamorphic model of Rotterdam. A timber decked walkway rests on a steel structure, tied into the concrete reinforcement.

The projection of the anamorphic model of Rotterdam lights the entrance foyer to the Synaesthetic Discoteque. As pilgrims work their way through the labyrinth of the spaces after passing through the threshold pods, they enter the upper chamber and discover the monoperspectival nature of the projected apparition.

Hardwood timber boardwalk finish Mild steel handrail

Steel supporting frame to boardwalk

Steel ties to concrete reinforcement

Steel base plate to concrete mould (resin anchor to existing slab at column)

Mild steel curtain rail hangar

Heavyweight canvas curtain

exploded axonometric

detail section 148

join the lights detail study The re-aligned grid is an immersive space with a high degree of adaptability and influence the DJs. A steel mesh floor is supported by tensile rods fixed to the trusses and floors above. The structure mediates between existing floor levels which are used as service and access space by the DJs.

Join the Lights (Route Above)

Tensile Structure to Trusses and Floors Above

Mesh Flooring

axonometric 149

transcendence detail study The binocular temple is a shared space which acts as final installation of the Synaesthetic Discoteque labyrinth. Pilgrims who have successfully navigated the labyrinth enter at the upper level and witness the binocular mechanism which forms a projection on the screen. The material construction utilises steel skeleton in tension and compression with a timber boarding outer shell. The internal projection screen is constructed from steel reinforced plaster.

steel structure to accommodation 150

column detail

exploded axonometric

realignment of grid

steel structure addition to accommodation

column detail

151

transcendence detail study

Binocular Lenses

Plaster Projection Screen

Steel Structural Skeleton

Timber Shell

Steel Scaffold Supporting Nest Structure

exploded axonometric 152

structural axonometric 153

154

08. s5 masterplan project in media res

09. research through design proposal 10. mapping the arb criteria 11. critical reflection

08. s5 urban project in media res Rotterdam, as a city, associates itself with the concept of ‘Tolerance’ derived chiefly from the cities’ claim on the celebrated renaissance scholar, Erasmus of Rotterdam. This studio, as a whole, is concerned with definition and distinction within the public space of the city, what it terms a ‘topology of toleration’.

It aims to investigate how notions of tolerance are exhibited in the public realm, be they as much a fabrication as reality. It asks how the determining factors which define public space, be they topographic, eometric, graphic, relational, social, are articulated and manipulated in relation to this theme.

It proposes to extrapolate and present evidence of physical examples and relational characteristics of public to private interfaces within a selected public space of Rotterdam. This studio is interested in prising apart the clear binary of public and private within the urban realm, and seeks to extrapolate and interrogate the tensions and possibilities that lie between.

155

crooswijk cemetery as void

crooswijk cemetery axonometric 156

imperfect quarantine The early studies at the cemetery revealed it to be in a state of imperfect quarantine from the surrounding city. Although there are two main gateways, only a single access point is opened during the day; to allow visitors but to discourage people walking through the grounds. Most people on the site moved with purpose to visit and tend to graves or attend burials.

Although it is is intended that the cemetery serve as a tranquil area of isolation, the chaos of the city was still heard and seen in glimpses through foliage. In addition to the external sounds, the maintenance of the planting by groundsmen often punctured the otherwise quiet air with the sound of light machinery.

quarantine studies A series of studies which tied the imperfect quarantine of Crooswijk cemetery with historical precedent were undertaken to inform the project brief.

Ro

La

Ad

Lu

J

H

Al

quarantine research 157

proposal quarantine facility Quarantine

[front of house]

[back of house]

Internal border checks have been abandoned across much of Europe following the Schengen agreement in 1985, however this policy is in flux as shifts occur across the political landscape of Europe. Beneath the official policy of open borders, surface restrictions of movement are still in place which control the movement of materials, plants, animals and people.

Plants

People

The institute will test samples from shipment of plants and seeds held at the Rotterdam port facility which have failed a first inspection. It will house secure storage facilities, testing laboratories, machinery for disinfection of failed samples, and an incinerator. The plant samples which pass checks and are clear the shipment for import will be donated to the adjacent urban farm.

The facility will also incorporate residential units for carriers of disease who can safely live within the main colony under safety precautions but must be monitored. A modern incarnation of Mary Mallon will live here and is offered an opportunity to work within the facility as an administrator.

This reflects Mary Mallonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s incarceration from March 1918 - November 1938.

Public Relations

Materials

The institute will employ an arm of public relations which will be accommodated by a lecture theatre which doubles as a space for press conferences, . A smaller, private conference room will also be available for sensitive meetings between organisations.

Secretive, high security quarantine isolation of hazardous biological and chemical substances and nuclear materials with associated testing laboratories.

Within this context the subject of quarantine and its implementation is controversial with many official policies shifting towards integration in to society except in the case of the most serious pandemics.

The proposal is for a governmental Quarantine station for the containment and testing of hazardous plants, materials and people. Funding for the facility will be provided by the incorporation of a bank which charges rent for use of anonymous, ultra high security safety deposit boxes.

The site is located in a transitional space between the neighbourhoods of Crooswijk and Hillegersburg.

Located on this in-between site, the facility will project an acceptable public function (quarantine of low risk plants) which masques a labyrinthine network housing the secretive, politically contentious program.

The proposal seeks to complete a seal of development which rings Crooswijk cemetery and asserts its presence as a void.

The scheme is developed in partnership with a small university research facility for Wageningen University which funds a community learning centre to facilitate courses such as that of the Dutch language and the English language. In order to use these learning facilities the community must commit time to working in the university allotment which the university can then research, thus providing a cyclical system.

A joint masterplan to accommodate the two schemes has been developed around a series of shared functions and spaces.

158

Private Bank People The facility will also incorporate facilities for people travelling to the Netherlands from areas of disease outbreak in cases of high risk of or suspicion of infection.

The isolation units will feel non threatening and the illusion of a normal apartment will be projected for the mental well being of the patient. Behind the scenes however, invisible to the patient there will be rigorous infection control procedures which are on display to the public as a statement that the risk of an outbreak is under control.

This aspect of the program addresses Mary Mallonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s initial phases of isolation from March 1907 - February 1910 and March 1915 - March 1918. The scheme is illustrated with a medic returning from Sierra Leone, Ralph Reismeier taking residence.

The facility will incorporate safety deposit boxes housed in a biological testing chamber situated within the high security area. This aspect of the facility will be cloaked by the public functions. Access will be via an adapted existing residential unit along the river to the south of the site. The current resident Dries van Dijk will be employed by the government as a gatekeeper and will guide customers to the bank facility.

axonometric view high security entrance to facility 159

proposal in relation to crooswijk cemetery

160

University

Quarantine Facility

axonometric view of proposal

161

L2 1 : 1000

quarantine apartment access lobby quarantine apartment

library teaching

L1 1 : 1000

teaching

sterilizer plant access lobby

water stills

gym office mezzanine guest waiting

low security accommodation

meeting room

student accommodation

private waiting office

pontoon

office

office

allotments

cafe patient ingress + lab

market hall

incoming water, gas + sterilizer

water stills + reception

low security accommodation

gym change

cleared specimens plant labs

water treatment executive parking

student accommodation

seed storage in wall private access safety deposit boxes within bio test chamber

incoming plant specimens

nuc.

airlock + sterile prep

bio. lab

indefinite quarantine units

chem. lab

bio. chem.

β quarantine γ quarantine

nuc. lab

Îą quarantine

L0 1 : 1000

lecture theatre / conference operating theatre incinerator

access from square

bio test chamber route to bank facility within bio test chamber

access to bank facility

L-1 1 : 1000

exploded axonometric 162

access to water fountain for test purposes

L2 1 : 1000

L1 1 : 100

L0 1 : 1000

Public Public/Neutral Neutral Neutral/Private Private Private/Hyper Private Hyper private Hyper private/Quarantine

L-1

Quarantine

1 : 1000

security zone plans 163

09. research through design

04. experimental architecture

morphogenesis of bütschli droplets A study into the latent agency of Bütschli droplets as generators of form and an examination of the authorship role of an architect.

05. s6 thesis project part 2

06. architecture & construction: process & management

08. s5 masterplan project in media res

introduction

09. research through design proposal

For this study I intend to explore the relationship between a designer and the latent agency of protocells in an architectural design context. A series of experiments to test the capability of Bütschli droplets to determine form and generate mineral structures will be recorded through mapping exercises which will inform the parallel development of a computational model (through a dual evolutionary strategy method). The results of simulations generated by the digital model compared with observed phenomena will provide a reflection on the level of understanding of the chemical system and will become a mode of critique. The process of experimentation, mapping of phenomena, and translation of mapping into a computational tool will be presented as an exhibition which addresses the relationship between agency of matter and authorship of the architect and contributes to a cultural shift toward a mode of design conceived at the nanoscale which utilises a bottom up evolutionary strategy.

10. mapping the arb criteria 11. end note

research questions -How can Bütschli droplets be manipulated to form architectural structures as mineralising agents?

-What are the typical interactions and forms of morphogenesis that occur within a protocell system?

-Can a digital computational model replicate phenomena observed in a protocell system?

-What can the performance of the computational model teach us about the relationship balance between authorship of the architect and agency of the dynamic system?

research context Our attitudes to resource management and modes of design are currently undergoing a cultural shift from domineering industrial practice toward a symbiotic relationship with the natural world. As issues of climate change and dwindling natural resources are established in our consciousness, attitudes toward present industrial techniques which are based on unlimited resources have shifted alongside a radical rethinking of what constitutes truly sustainable practice.Biomimicry design and the principle of cradle to cradle production lifecycles are stepping stones toward a new notion of sustainable practice catalysed by research into the complexity of ecosystems and a hands on approach to materials which has emerged from feminist philosophy. Theorists such as Jane Bennett acknowledge agency as being distributed across human-non human assemblages, and a new mode of design has emerged in which architects act as midwifes to generate form through a symbiotic relationship with vibrant matter. Two emergent fields of research which promise to capture the new paradigm are synthetic biology and living technology. An examination into material and design processes which shift the focus from the existing mode of design – based on industrial management of material as inert matter divided from the production process toward a bottom up evolutionary approach can be relevant to both fields.

living technology The term Living Technology was coined by researchers at the Initiative for Science, Society and Policy at the University of Southern Denmark and broadly refers to technologies with lifelike qualities. ‘Primary living technologies exhibit lifelike behaviours yet do not possess any biological parts, secondary living technologies harness organisms to perform their tasks.’

A fundamental shift in the mode of design has emerged from rudimentary biomimicry to a rigorous design conception at the nanoscale, able to utilise the value of complex systems.

Martin Hanczyc asserts that in order to build complex forms we must start from the bottom up.10 Both living technology and synthetic biology offer a paradigm for architecture whose design strategy is based on ‘systems determined by interactions at a nanoscale as opposed to geometrical abstraction’.

164

protocells Protocells are defined by Rachel Armstrong as ‘very simple chemical systems that are capable of behaving in ways that we would associate with life.’ Protocells constitute a form of primary living technology and have entered the consciousness of architects following publication of Architectural Design: Protocell Architecture in 2011 (issue 210).

Protocell research is aimed at the construction of a chemical life-like ensemble in the form of an artificial cell system that is able to self-maintain, self-reproduce and potentially evolve.

This area of research is in the early stages of the classical definition of a bottom-up approach described in application to synthetic biology by Stephane Ludec in 1914. Martin Hanczyc, a leading researcher in the field describes protocells as simple models of living cells that possess some of their properties, such as metabolism, movement, replication, information and evolution, but are not necessarily alive. Protocells have been shown to be motile, act as chemotaxis and have some function of memory as they react to their own traces in an chemical environment. ‘Protocells manipulate and can be manipulated to alter matter in their environment, reworking and repositioning this material in time and space – a strategy shared by life to avoid entropy and the decay towards equilibrium, in other words, death.’ The basic chemical makeup of protocells offers high potential for this technology to be scaled up for deployment in the field.

Bütschli droplets are a form of protocell which have been extensively studied by Martin Hanczyc and can be formed by direct addition of sodium hydroxide to olive oil. Bütschli droplets are formed by boundary structures at the interface of fatty acids and undergo Marangoni type motion due to surface tension gradients between reactants. The surface structures form a collection of hundreds of millions of molecules that then possess properties not present in the individual molecules. Multiple actants form an assemblage built from bottom up. Rachel Armstrong has shown that the metabolism of bütschli droplet systems can vary from a timescale of seconds to days and the reaction can be extended from an area of nanoscale to metres using a matrix. A Belousov-Zhabotinsky type reaction can be maintained in order to extend the timescale of the system and offers potential to affect it as an author.

Martin Hanczyc has shown that the chemistries and metabolisms of protocells are programmable due to the nature of their construction, and has shown that combinations of protocells with different metabolisms are able to modify complex environments with the potential to induce higher order reactions.

Other noteworthy protocell research has been undertaken by the Cronin group at Glasgow University, which has studied inorganic tubular and cellular architectures. Leroy Cronin and team have synthesised inorganic tubular structures of 0.001 millimetres diameter in addition to iChells which have been configured from a scale of 0.01 -10 millimetres. The Cronin group hopes to link the tubular and cellular systems and suggest that these elements could be combined for the formation of electrically programmable structures which lie latent in a construction material.

morphogenesis of bütschli droplets The morphogenesis of Bütschli droplets has been studied by Martin Hanczyc and Rachel Armstrong, who has mapped reaction processes and catalogued the forms generated by Bütschli droplets. Armstrong has observed through experiments that Bütschli droplets possess a simple set of actions which are determined by their metabolism. The simple actors exist within a complex system which gives rise to a set of ‘spontaneous morphologies’ as the droplets react with each other. In addition to mapping and cataloguing the morphologies of Bütschli droplets Armstrong has produced short stories and films which explore the life-like properties and contribute to a wider cultural understanding of the phenomena.

gaps-potentials There is opportunity for further study into methods of manipulating Bütschli droplets as an author by direct addition of reactant, chemical gradients and scaffolds. Imbalanced chemical reactions can prevent equilibrium and affect form generation, for example through a Belousov-Zhabotinsky type reaction.

There is opportunity to establish a new mode of classification relevant to the dynamic nature of living technology. Qualitative mapping of the reaction processes (including motility and chemotaxi function) and a taxonomy of morphogenesis can be used to create a catalogue of observed phenomena which may translate into a vibrant matter designers toolkit.

There is potential for further study into morphogenesis of Bütschli droplet to better understand the processes of reactions. New modes of research in this area may also be relevant to the wider field of living technology and its architectural applications. Existing modes of practice and study of morphogenesis in the biological field may be applied to protocells in order to better understand the processes which generate forms, as morphogenetic processes cannot be deduced from the final form.

One way to seek to understand the morphogenetic process is through modelling of the system as a series of effectors and receptors. Modelling can be used to test a hypothesis against observation, or to test the implications of a hypothesis through simulation, and successful computational models can be used as design tools.

Computational model can be developed to test hypothesis, and its performance can also be analysed as a mode of critique. The vibrant matter designers handbook and critical reflection of the performance of the computational model can contribute to cultural awareness of new paradigm.

research methods: proposal The research proposal seeks to investigate the form generative potential of modified Bütschli droplets formed by sodium hydroxide in an olive oil solution. A series of experiments where sodium hydroxide is added directly to olive oil will be recorded by photography and a 3D scanner. The data will be mapped by drawing and 3D visualisation in order to analyse the capability of Bütschli droplets to determine form and generate mineral structures.

Observations and mapping will inform a ‘vibrant matter toolkit’ which will become a resource for designers in the field. A new classification system of morphogenesis of Bütschli droplets will be developed to inform parameters for a new mode of design in which an architect acts as midwife to create form with vibrant matter.

The mapping exercises and principles established by the vibrant matter toolkit will inform the parallel development of a computational model by a dual evolutionary strategy.

The reaction of the Bütschli droplets occurring in 3 dimensional Euclidean space is stochastic and can be analysed as a dimensional vector process. 3D scans of the reaction will provide point cloud data from the start until a state of equilibrium is reached. The data can be analysed by the Monte Carlo method using software such as Matlab to inform the development of a gent based simulation of the motile function of Bütschli droplets, which models the behaviour of singular actants across the assemblage. The point cloud data output from these simulations will be rendered as a 3 dimensional form using Rhinoceros with Grasshopper.

The results of the computational model when compared against observed phenomena will become a mode of critique and reflection on the level of understanding of the chemical system.

The research output will be an exhibition which presents all aspects of the research, including the experiments, mineral structures formed, mapping processes, the taxonomy of interactions and morphogenesis presented as a vibrant matter toolkit, design of simulative computer model and the results of computer model. Additional work which presents the wider context of research, design fictions and future projections will contribute to the exhibition as a forum for debate and reflection on the emerging design paradigm and ethical considerations.

research methods: project methodology The research process will employ a dual evolutionary strategy whereby chemical experimentation is undertaken alongside the simultaneous development of the Vibrant Matter Toolkit and computational model. This flexible process will allow a dialogue to form between designer and material system. The project phases outlined below will be non-linear as the iterative process of development may require a step back to earlier position in order to re-test findings and hypothesis.

Phase 1 (preliminary study) The first phase will be a preliminary sequence of experiments to determine the optimum combinations of chemicals for the formation of mineral crystals by Bütschli droplets. This series of experiments will analyse amount of mineral crystal formed, time frames for reactions and size of droplets in order to establish a suitable baseline reaction for further study and modification. Tests will take place within a shallow depth of fluid in order to reduce complexity and aid effective mapping. This study will provide a grounding knowledge of the effects the initial set of chemicals has on the reaction and will explore the potential to catalyse a BelousovZhabotinsky reaction. The tests will be recorded photographically and by 3D scanner.

As these experiments will be mapped the preliminary study offers an opportunity to test the effectiveness of qualitative photographic, time-lapse, drawing and graphical mapping techniques. It will act as a primer for the typical interactions and morphogenesis which will be studied further in phase 2, and a draft taxonomy of interactions and instances of morphogenesis (presented as a Vibrant Matter Toolkit) will be produced based on emergent phenomena.

Phase 2 The second phase of research will be to intensively study and map chemical reactions under a range of conditions and with increased intervention by an author as the reaction takes place.

Phenomena which occur within the system will be identified and retested in order to develop the Vibrant Matter Toolkit, which will be extended to include parameters for design. The experiments will be recorded in plan, elevation and perspective with additional 3D scanning analysed as point cloud data to enable deeper analysis.

Phase 3 The experience gained from the development of the Vibrant Matter Toolkit will be implemented to influence the form generative potential of the Bütschli droplet system. At this stage scaffolds or other techniques to affect the fluid environment may be employed to optimise the mineral crystallisation and work towards complex structures. The effects of intervention will be mapped and further incorporated into the Vibrant Matter Toolkit.

Phase 4 3D scan point cloud data from the first three stages, will be analysed as a dimensional vector process using software such as Matlab and inform the development of a gent based simulation of the motile function of Bütschli droplets. A computational model will be developed which simulates an assemblage of individual actants. The development of the model will be informed by the principles established by the Vibrant Matter Toolkit. Snapshots of simulations will be rendered in 3D using Rhinoceros with Grasshopper and presented as digital models or 3D printed physical artefacts to be compared with chemical tests in vitro.

Phase 5 Curate research process and findings to be presented in exhibition.

project management All laboratory and computational work to be based at Newcastle University facilities.

Gantt chart of Activities over four months (Cyclical process of activities A-E will inform iterative development of computational model) A: Experimentation B: Mapping and Analysis (subjective) C: Data Analysis D: Computational Model E: Simulation review F: Review of research and presentation as exhibition

Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Review

m1 W1 A/B

Phase 1

W2

W3

A

B

Phase 2/3

W4

m2 W5

C

D/E Phase 4

W6 A/B

Phase 2/3

W7

W8

C

D/E Phase 4

m3 W9 A/B

Phase 2/3

W10

W11

C

D/E Phase 4

W12 A/B

Phase 2/3

m4 W13

C

W14

D/E Phase 4

W15

F

W16

F Phase 5

165

10. mapping the arb criteria

pg n.

This table maps ARB criteria alongside the academic portfolio.

ARB criteria GC5, GC6,

4, 5 6, 7

GC2, GC3,

GC11

8, 9

GC2, GC3,

GC6

10, 11

GC2, GC3,

GC6

12, 13

GC2, GC3,

GC6

14, 15

GC2, GC3,

GC6

16, 17

GC2, GC3,

GC6

18, 19

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC11

20, 21

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC11

22, 23

GC2, GC3,

GC6

24, 25

GC2, GC3,

GC6

26, 27

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC11

28, 29

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC11

30, 31

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC11

32, 33

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC11

34, 35

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC11

36, 37

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC10, GC11

38, 39

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC11

40, 41

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC11

42, 43

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC11

44, 45

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC11

46, 47

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC11

48, 49

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC11

52, 53

GC2, GC3,

GC6

54, 55

GC2, GC3,

GC6

56, 57

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC11

58, 59

GC1, GC2, GC3,

GC6, GC7, GC8, GC9,

GC11

60, 61

GC1, GC2, GC3,

GC6, GC7, GC8, GC9,

GC11

62, 63

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC11

64, 65

GC1, GC2, GC3,

GC6, GC7, GC8,

GC11

66, 67

GC1, GC2, GC3,

GC6, GC7, GC8,

GC11

68, 69

GC1, GC2, GC3,

GC6, GC7, GC8,

GC11

70, 71

GC2, GC3,

GC6

72, 73

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC11

74, 75

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC11

76, 77

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC11

78, 79

GC2, GC3,

GC6, GC7,

GC11

80, 81

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC11

82, 83

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC11

84, 85

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC11

86, 87

GC2, GC3,

GC6

88, 89

GC2, GC3,

GC6

90, 91

GC2, GC3,

GC6

92, 93

GC2, GC3,

GC6

94, 95

GC2, GC3,

GC6, GC7,

96, 97

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC11

50, 51

GC11

98, 99

GC2, GC3,

GC6

100, 101

GC2, GC3,

GC6

102, 103

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC11

104, 105

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC8, GC9, GC10, GC11

106, 107

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC8, GC9, GC10, GC11

108, 109

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC8, GC9, GC10, GC11

110, 111

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC8, GC9, GC10, GC11

112, 113

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC11

114, 115

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC11

116, 117

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC11

118, 119

GC2, GC3,

GC6

GC11

120, 121

GC4, GC5, GC6, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC10, GC11

122, 123 124, 125

GC2, GC3,

126, 127

GC1, GC2, GC3,

128, 129

GC2, GC3,

GC6, GC7,

130, 131

GC2, GC3,

GC6, GC7,

132, 133

GC2, GC3,

GC6,

134, 135

GC2, GC3,

GC6, GC7,

136, 137

GC1, GC2, GC3, GC4, GC5, GC6, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC10, GC11

138, 139

GC1, GC2, GC3,

GC5,

GC8, GC9, GC10,

140, 141

GC1, GC2, GC3,

GC5,

GC8, GC9, GC10,

142, 143

GC1, GC2, GC3,

GC5,

GC8, GC9, GC10,

144, 145

GC1, GC2, GC3,

GC5,

GC8, GC9, GC10,

146, 147

GC1, GC2, GC3,

GC5,

GC8, GC9, GC10,

148, 149

GC1, GC2, GC3,

GC5,

GC8, GC9, GC10,

150, 151

GC1, GC2, GC3,

GC5,

GC8, GC9, GC10,

152, 153

GC1, GC2, GC3,

GC5,

GC8, GC9, GC10,

154, 154

GC5, GC6, GC7,

156, 157 158, 159

GC5, GC6, GC7,

162, 163 164, 165

GC11

GC1, GC2,

GC4, GC5, GC6, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC10, GC11

GC1, GC2,

GC4, GC5, GC6, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC10, GC11

160, 161

166

GC6 GC5, GC6, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC10, GC11

GC5, GC6, GC7, GC2, GC3,

GC6,

GC11 GC9,

GA1 With regard to meeting the eleven General Criteria at Parts 1 and 2 to the right, the Part 1 will be awarded to students who have: .1 ability to generate design proposals using understanding of a body of knowledge, some at the current boundaries of professional practice and the academic discipline of architecture; .2 ability to apply a range of communication methods and media to present design proposals clearly and effectively;

GC5 Understanding of the relationship between people and buildings, and between buildings and their environment, and the need to relate buildings and the spaces between them to human needs and scale.

5.1 - the needs and aspirations of building users; 5.2 - the impact of buildings on the environment, and the precepts of sustainable design; 5.3 - the way in which buildings fit into their local context.

.3 understanding of the alternative materials, processes and techniques that apply to architectural design and building construction;

GC6 Understanding of the profession of architecture and the role of the architect in society, in particular in preparing briefs that take account of social factors.

.4 ability to evaluate evidence, arguments and assumptions in order to make and present sound judgments within a structured discourse relating to architectural culture, theory and design;

6.1 - the nature of professionalism and the duties and responsibilities of architects to clients, building users, constructors, co-professionals and the wider society;

.5 knowledge of the context of the architect and the construction industry, and the professional qualities needed for decision making in complex and unpredictable circumstances; and

6.2 - the role of the architect within the design team and construction industry, recognising the importance of current methods and trends in the construction of the built environment;

.6 ability to identify individual learning needs and understand the personal responsibility required for further professional education.

6.3 - the potential impact of building projects on existing and proposed communities.

GC7 Understanding of the methods of investigation and preparation of the brief for a design project.

GA2 With regard to meeting the eleven General Criteria at Parts 1 and 2 above, the Part 2 will be awarded to students who have:

7.1 - the need to critically review precedents relevant to the function, organisation and technological strategy of design proposals;

.1 ability to generate complex design proposals showing understanding of current architectural issues, originality in the application of subject knowledge and, where appropriate, to test new hypotheses and speculations;

7.2 - the need to appraise and prepare building briefs of diverse scales and types, to define client and user requirements and their appropriateness to site and context;

.2 ability to evaluate and apply a comprehensive range of visual, oral and written media to test, analyse, critically appraise and explain design proposals;

7.3 - the contributions of architects and co-professionals to the formulation of the brief, and the methods of investigation used in its preparation.

.3 ability to evaluate materials, processes and techniques that apply to complex architectural designs and building construction, and to integrate these into practicable design proposals;

GC8 Understanding of the structural design, constructional and engineering problems associated with building design.

.4 critical understanding of how knowledge is advanced through research to produce clear, logically argued and original written work relating to architectural culture, theory and design;

8.1 - the investigation, critical appraisal and selection of alternative structural, constructional and material systems relevant to architectural design;

.5 understanding of the context of the architect and the construction industry, including the architect’s role in the processes of procurement and building production, and under legislation;

8.2 - strategies for building construction, and ability to integrate knowledge of structural principles and construction techniques;

.6 problem solving skills, professional judgment, and ability to take the initiative and make appropriate decisions in complex and unpredictable circumstances; and .7 ability to identify individual learning needs and understand the personal responsibility required to prepare for qualification as an architect.

8.3 - the physical properties and characteristics of building materials, components and systems, and the environmental impact of specification choices.

GC9 Adequate knowledge of physical problems and technologies and the function of buildings so as to provide them with internal conditions of comfort and protection against the climate.

9.1 - principles associated with designing optimum visual, thermal and acoustic environments;

GC1 Ability to create architectural designs that satisfy both aesthetic and technical requirements. The graduate will have the ability to: 1.1 - prepare and present building design projects of diverse scale, complexity, and type in a variety of contexts, using a range of media, and in response to a brief; 1.2 -understand the constructional and structural systems, the environmental strategies and the regulatory requirements that apply to the design and construction of a comprehensive design project; 1.3 - develop a conceptual and critical approach to architectural design that integrates and satisfies the aesthetic aspects of a building and the technical requirements of its construction and the needs of the user.

GC2 Adequate knowledge of the histories and theories of architecture and the related arts, technologies and human sciences.

2.1 - the cultural, social and intellectual histories, theories and technologies that influence the design of buildings; 2.2 - the influence of history and theory on the spatial, social, and technological aspects of architecture; 2.3 - the application of appropriate theoretical concepts to studio design projects, demonstrating a reflective and critical approach.

GC3 Knowledge of the fine arts as an influence on the quality of architectural design.

3.1 - how the theories, practices and technologies of the arts influence architectural design; 3.2 - the creative application of the fine arts and their relevance and impact on architecture; 3.3 - the creative application of such work to studio design projects, in terms of their conceptualisation and representation.

9.2 - systems for environmental comfort realised within relevant precepts of sustainable design; 9.3 - strategies for building services, and ability to integrate these in a design project.

GC10 The necessary design skills to meet building users’ requirements within the constraints imposed by cost factors and building regulations.

10.1 critically examine the financial factors implied in varying building types, constructional systems, and specification choices, and the impact of these on architectural design; 10.2 understand the cost control mechanisms which operate during the development of a project; 10.3 prepare designs that will meet building users’ requirements and comply with UK legislation, appropriate performance standards and health and safety requirements.

GC11 Adequate knowledge of the industries, organisations, regulations and procedures involved in translating design concepts into buildings and integrating plans into overall planning.

11.1 the fundamental legal, professional and statutory responsibilities of the architect, and the organisations, regulations and procedures involved in the negotiation and approval of architectural designs, including land law, development control, building regulations and health and safety legislation; 11.2 the professional inter-relationships of individuals and organisations involved in procuring and delivering architectural projects, and how these are defined through contractual and organisational structures; 11.3 the basic management theories and business principles related to running both an architect’s practice and architectural projects, recognising current and emerging trends in the construction industry.

GC4 Adequate knowledge of urban design, planning and the skills involved in the planning process.

4.1 - theories of urban design and the planning of communities; 4.2 - the influence of the design and development of cities, past and present on the contemporary built environment; 4.3 - current planning policy and development control legislation, including social, environmental and economic aspects, and the relevance of these to design development.

167

11. critical reflection To conclude the academic portfolio this reflective piece summarises my own development over the last two years.

In my thesis project, De-programming the Revit Technician, the theoretical drive of the studio allowed me to situate my own experience of Revit as both enabling and inhibiting software within present discourse around practice. The study of my physical interaction with Revit at the local, personal level was tied with a reading of the broader cultural shifts across the construction industry, with interests of efficiency and guarantee in building design and construction. My attempts to alter our relationship with Revit through a change in our physical interaction led me to explore analogue means of production, before seeking an alternative practice of coding suited to a new interface for design. The material production of the project increasingly moved away from what we consider as standard architectures and toward a fine art practice, though one in which an alternative experience of place and process of communication posit a different practice of construction, which was illustrated by the construction schedule and realisation document for the final studio.

In testing the idea of an alternative coding practice driving the project in the Architecture and Construction: Practice and Management module, the essay revealed a change in relationship between architect and builder. It was found that in using these techniques the architect would practice with reduced agency and the builder would take on increased responsibility for interpreting more loose, general instructions to enact a design or response on site. In this practice of improvisation on site, a emphasis on materials which can be adapted and manipulated to changing conditions would occur, with potential to move toward midwifery of fluid materials and form making processes. The open relationship stands counter to contemporary scripted architectural practice in which a building is assembled from highly measured, homogeneous components which are manufactured and combined to fine tolerances.

While the practice offered above has potential to promote a closer tie between the builder and their materials, with more opportunity for craft in the act of construction, another route which the project could have taken could be a study of the poetic potential in assembling standard components in new, novel ways. This mode of design has become popular in contemporary practice, as components are removed from their initial context and repurposed to offer alternative architectures in a fashion following Duchamp. In this mode of production the craft is present in the design process as the architect hacks into standard assemblages by selecting and combining standard components for alternative results.

In an interview with Jean Nouvel, Jean Baudrillard questions whether a Duchamp figure has existed for architecture. This question also rested in the background of my detail design project for the Van Nelle in S5. In considering the question I sought to reveal something that was hidden in the Van Nelle factory, inspired by Duchampâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s optical experiments. In aligning Duchampâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s embrace of the ambiguity precluded by binocular vision with the call of the studio brief to follow utopia as method, I was able to materialise in the specificity of the factory my reading of cultural shifts in modernism from its crafted, poetic birth in the early days of the Bauhaus school toward another emancipatory potential provided by rationalised mass production. I sought to realign the factory with the philosophy present in the early days of the Bauhaus school, using a paranoid critical reading as a method to combine my theoretical and historical reading as means to shift the gaze. The hacking of the regular factory structure into a crafted alternative was materialised using Revit â&#x20AC;&#x201C; software which is also geared toward regular commercial practice. I spent several intensive weeks modelling complex organic forms in the software, which I found in this case does not lend itself to economic production as the process of hacking was time intensive. My intoxication within the software interface, upon which I was reliant as I stubbornly avoided drawing elements by hand but preferred to export geometry directly from the model, informed my thesis project, where through critical engagement with the software I disengaged myself from the interface to develop my own alternative.

My hacking of the interface for the thesis project was informed by experience in coding for the experimental architecture module. As I learnt instrumental techniques for coding in a highly scripted manner, I first used these methods to enable production of drawings through Revit from an embodied act of design, in which an original drawing at large scale was encoded for transmit to a Revit modeller. Following this test, which highlighted the psychological implications of negotiating a labyrinthine interface, which steers the meander of the labyrinthine traveller, I sought alternative coding practices for construction which disengage from Revit software, and the mode of practice based on assembly which it came to represent, toward an alternative process for architectural design and construction.

168